President Goodluck Jonathan said the Federal
Government couldn’t contain the violent activities of
Boko Haram because members of the sect have
infiltrated all the three arms of government
including the armed forces, police and other security
agencies.

He said this yesterday during an inter-
denominational service to mark the 2012 Armed
Forces Remembrance Day at the National Christian
Centre, Abuja while underscoring the strength and
secrecy surrounding the activities of Boko Haram
across the country.

He said: “Some of them (Boko Haram members) are
in the executive arm of government, some of them are
in the parliamentary/legislative arm of government
while some of them are even in the judiciary. “Some are also in the armed forces, the police and
other security agencies.

Some continue to dip their
hands and eat with you and you won’t even know the
person who will point a gun at you or plant a bomb
behind your house. “That is how complex the situation is.

Our security
services are trying because as the president, I know
what they are doing. Nigerians may not appreciate
their efforts especially when you know that we are
under policed. We have a police force that is about
300,000 in number. “Countries that have the kind of challenge that we
have today who have about 20 per cent of our
population have five times more than that number.

That number would have been okay some years back
but definitely not the number that can cope with the
security challenges we have now,” he said.

Jonathan described the security challenges as more
difficult than the civil war experience and appealed
to former heads of military to assist their colleagues
in resolving the violence. He said: “This is a particular time when the country
has major security challenges.

There are explosions
every day, people are dying and are being killed daily
without any reason. “It is a period we also call on the armed forces,
including those that have retired to join hands with
their colleagues that are still in service and
government to see how collectively we can protect our
nation. “I believe we will overcome our immediate challenges.

The situation we have in our hands is even worse than
the civil war that we fought. “During the civil war, we knew and we could even
predict where the enemy was coming from, you can
even know the route they are coming from, you can
even know what calibre of weapon they will use and so
on. “But the challenge we have today is more complicated.

I remember when I had a meeting with elders from the
North East and some parts of the North West where
the Boko Haram phenomenon is more prevalent,
somebody said that the situation is bad that even if
one’s son is a member, one will not even know.

In his sermon, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria,
AnglicanCommunion, Reverend. Nicholas Okoh said
the nation was passing through trying times and
total loyalty of members of the armed forces
remained the only asset available for the President.

DailyTrust

Talking from both sides again.