President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, issued a stern warning to the Nigerian Army to desist from carrying out retaliatory assaults on the police or the civilian population over any provocation.
The President also described last week’s accidental bombing of civilians in Kaduna State by the military as “a proper tragedy as a nation,” giving the assurance that such would not happen again in the country.
Tinubu spoke in Maiduguri on Monday where he declared open the Chief of Army Staff Annual General Conference 2023.
Ruminating on the Kaduna accidental bombing, which claimed over 100 lives, Tinubu said, “We weep at the passing of precious men, women and children; for those of us entrusted with the nation’s security, it is severely painful to fail those we have sworn to protect. The incident must be thoroughly investigated and recurrence must be prevented.”
He also frowned on the recent Adamawa incident where some soldiers razed the Adamawa Police Command headquarters and killed an inspector, following a brawl between a policeman and a soldier in the city.
Tinubu said, “To you, military leaders, you have a responsibility to demonstrate great character in uniform. Therefore, what happened in Adamawa State is unacceptable. Please let it end.”
He charged the conference participants to focus their discussions on intelligence, inclusiveness and ability to combat security challenges to better protect Nigerians and combat emerging threats confronting the nation.
Meanwhile, the President, on Monday, inaugurated 107 mass transit vehicles, including 50 electric taxis, purchased by the Borno State government.
Speaking at the unveiling of the buses, Tinubu lauded Governor Babagana Zulum for his foresight and people-oriented policies and projects.
He disclosed that the Federal Government was planning to set up a plant in that direction to create employment and ease transportation.
Earlier, Zulum said he was motivated to embark on the project following a directive from the President to the governors after the removal of the fuel subsidy.
He said the deployment of 50 electric taxis was the first of its kind in Nigeria and was in line with the realities of climate-change.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the vehicles included 50 electric taxis, 35 coaster buses, 12 Hummer buses and 10 luxurious buses.
The President, who was on his first official visit to Borno State, also paid a courtesy visit to the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi.
