The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, on Wednesday called for the establishment of a counter terrorism Special Forces unit and a national counter terrorism centre.
Tambuwal made the call in a speech to welcome members from a two-week break to mark the end of the third legislative session of the seventh House of Representatives.
“It is my view that now is the time to establish a counter terrorism Special Forces unit as well as a national counter terrorism centre for the armed forces”, he said.
He said that when established, the outfit should be accompanied by mass recruitment of personnel as well as the redeployment of existing officers and men to the unit.
According to him, it will also be necessary to formally bring on board the Youth Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) into the proposed counter terrorism special training programme.
He said that when fully operational, the unit should be maintained in a state of permanent readiness to respond to terrorist activities anywhere in the country.
The speaker said that the war on insurgency in the country was real and required serious reappraisal of existing apparatus and operational strategies.
“The fact remains, however, that we as a people and a government, still need to do so much more to contain this menace and restore to our people, the peace and peace of mind that have been so rudely taken away from them”, he said.
He commended the Armed Forces and security agencies for their unwavering effort, determination and sacrifice in tackling the unfortunate and relentless assault on the peace and security of the nation.
The Nigerian military has conducted itself most professionally by limiting itself to its constitutional role.
He faulted the political leadership for gradually involving the military in partisan political roles by arresting, detaining, forcibly restricting the freedoms of innocent Nigerians. (NAN)
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