President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that all military checkpoints set up in the wake of Boko Haram’s activities throughout the country should be removed.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Aliyu Ismaila told State House correspondent about the order after a meeting Buhari had with service chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday.
“The President instructed the Chief of Defence Staff to get the Chief of Army Staff and Inspector-General of Police to remove all the military men along the roads across the country,” Ismaila said.
Buhari encouraged the service chiefs to their efforts and determination in prosecuting the war against Boko Haram.
The service chiefs left the meeting happier because the President updated and enriched their strategic plans. The movement of the command centre to the North-East was also discussed, Ismaila said.
“I also want to assure Nigerians that with what we have come out with from this meeting, we are very enthusiastic that the issue of Boko Haram will soon be over.
“The president has given us hope that we will see peace and security in the very near future,” he said.
“We have all strategised and we are coming out with one type of strategy that we are going to address the Boko Haram with, unlike before.”
He said that the absence of some services chiefs from the meeting does not mean they have been sacked.
Ismaila said: “This is not a national security meeting, this is a briefing by the Ministry of Defence on the operationalisation of the Multi-National Joint Task Force and the relocation of the command control centre to the North-East, so it is something restricted to the ministry of Defence.”
Motorists had been groaning from the snail-pace traffic jams they experience as. A result of military roadblocks, especially on the Abuja-Keffi Road.
