National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki, has said that the ongoing fight against terrorism and other forms of insecurity in Nigeria is not target at Islam and Muslims.
He clarified this in his speech at the Roll Out of Nigeria’s Soft Approach to Countering Terrorism, yesterday in Abuja.
He said: “We will ensure that the fight against terror is not misconstrued by Muslims in Nigeria as a fight against them. The terrorists are an influential minority who live with and claim to be Muslims, but through their activities bring harm and ridicule to Muslims and the religion of Islam. Concerted efforts are being made to isolate the terrorists from the communities in which they find sanctuary.”
Dasuki, who said the terrorists were desperate to ignite a religious war between Muslims and Christians in order to actualise a war scenario that would aid their operation, stressed that the ONSA would launch an aggressive interfaith response between Muslims and Christians to create awareness on terrorism.
“With the increasing democratisation of our institutions of governance and the rapidity of the new media enabled by technological advances, access to multiple information dissemination channels has become much easier allowing groups with violent tendencies to advance their cause to manipulate religion or radical ideology to recruit and radicalise thousands of individuals using multiple tools, and riding on the same principle of freedom of speech that underpins who we are. We in turn have realised that those tasked with the responsibility to protect can no longer function with a framework of the past.”
In his remarks, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Musa Adoke, said the event was timely and useful in the counter terrorism initiative.
He called on all stakeholders to combat terrorism within the ambit of law.
He said: “As AGF our responsibility is to ensure that combatants abide by the rules of engagement. And those detained whose involvement in terrorist act have not be ascertain should be quickly verified and where necessary released.”
