Presidency Hails North-East Youths For Cooperating With Security Agencies In Hunting Insurgents

Presidency, yesterday, hailed youths in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, who were said to be fully co-operating with security agencies to hunt and hand over insurgents to the military, noting that having carried out an assessment of the state of emergency declared by President Goodluck Jonathan in the three states, normalcy was gradually returning to the North-East of the country. In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, yesterday, the presidency said that the National Emergency Management Agency and Borno State government had confirmed that only 126 Nigerians had so far been displaced by the operations, noting that the bulk of the refugees were Nigeriens, a statistic the presidency said was contrary to a report that 8,000 Nigerians were fleeing to Niger Republic as a result of the emergency rule. “Perhaps, most gratifying is the new development where citizens, especially youths, are now fully co-operating with security agencies to hunt down these insurgents and hand them over to the military. “Without doubt, these youths are the new national heroes, who have risen up to the occasion in an unprecedented patriotic fashion to work together with their government by going after their tormentors. “This is heart-warming and clearly indicative of an awakened consciousness of civic responsibility,” the statement said. The statement added that the presidency was winning the war against terror and terrorists, with the results proof that opposition political leaders, who were against the emergency rule and proscription of terrorist groups, were actually clueless and blinded by their political pursuits. “One month into the state of emergency declared by President Goodluck Jonathan in some states in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria, reports from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states are reassuring. “Normalcy is gradually being restored as a result of the gallant efforts of the Armed Forces, other security agencies and the co-operation of the local communities. “Markets are being re-opened, children are returning to schools, sacked communities are being re-inhabited, while commercial activities in major towns in the affected states are approaching pre-insurgency period. “Also, contrary to a report in some media that 8,000 Nigerians were fleeing to Niger Republic as a result of the emergency rule, National Emergency Management Agency and Borno State government have confirmed that only 126 Nigerians have so far been displaced by the operations and that the bulk of the refugees referred to in the report were Nigeriens returning to Niger. “It is, therefore, gratifying that Nigeria is winning the war on terror and that the decision by President Goodluck Jonathan to declare a state of emergency in these three states is timely, effective and strategically unassailable,” the statement from the presidency said.