The House of Representatives has given the military up to March to end insurgency and other forms of insecurity across the country.
The Nation reports that Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, gave the hint at the weekend on the sidelines of the graduation/retirement of 350 soldiers at the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC) in Oshodi, Lagos State.
He said: “By the way, there is a March 2022 deadline for the Armed Forces to eradicate all these insurgencies. So, there is a countdown to that. Hopefully, Nigeria will be safe again in the fullness of time. There will be a lot of jobs shunned out and infrastructural projects embarked on.”
News of the deadline to end an insurgency is coming on the heels of terrorists surrendering to security agencies and allegations of amnesty being offered to them.
Asked about the amnesty for insurgents, Benson said he was completely against it, insisting that those who have committed such heinous crimes should be made to face the music.
“I believe that people who have perpetrated crimes, who I call terrorists, should not be given amnesty. The full weight of the law should be meted out to them. I am not in synch with amnesty for them,” he said.
Even though the lawmaker did not specify who issued the dateline, he h[wever blamed climate change and poverty for growing insecurity.