President Buhari orders removal of Military checkpoints

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate removal of all military checkpoints across the country.

The decision was reached during the President’s meeting with the Service Chiefs on Monday, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Aliyu Ismaila, confirmed the development.

He said, “The President has 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.”

The military checkpoints had been set up in the wake of Boko Haram activities in some parts of the country.

Ismaila added that Buhari challenged   the security chiefs to do more in the war against insurgency because of the leadership he was providing as a retired military officer.

A statement later issued by the Presidency further explained that the order for the removal of the checkpoints   affected only secure parts of the country.

The statement by   the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, quoted the President as saying that the soldiers must concentrate more on ending   insurgency in the country.

According to the statement, the   checkpoints shall   be retained in areas outside the North-Eastern states where the military considered them absolutely essential for the maintenance of national security.

“President Buhari who, in keeping with the declared priorities of his government, made the meeting with defence and security chiefs the top item on his schedule on his first day at work in the Presidential Villa, also expressed satisfaction at the progress made so far in the implementation of the decision of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to fast-track the deployment of the Multinational Joint Task Force based in Ndjamena,” part of the statement read.

“The defence and security chiefs who met with the President and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo for over three-and-half hours, also briefed them on the refurbishment of existing military platforms and the acquisition of new weapons for the Armed Forces.”

The Permanent Secretary explained that the meeting also discussed the movement of the Army command centre to the North-East.