Buhari came to power in 2015 vowing to crush a bloody jihadist revolt in the northeast, which has escalated while violence by criminal gangs has spread in the centre and northwest of the country. Referring to the latter regions, Buhari said, “What is coming up in the northwest and north central is very, very disturbing indeed. His criticism of the security forces came only days after armed forces chief Tukur Buratai said he was “proud” that Nigerians “are living in peace, and Nigeria is safer now than… five years ago”. Here criminal gangs have spread terror in rural areas, stealing cattle, carrying out ransom kidnappings and carrying out ruthless raids on villages. Last week, the Senate passed a resolution calling for military chiefs to resign or be fired over the country’s “deteriorating security situation”.

Source: The Guardian July 31, 2020 15:33 UTC