A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Osun, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has urged the service chiefs to be more ruthless with terrorists killing innocent citizens .

Mr Oyintiloye said the killings in the North and other parts of the country should be stopped.

The APC chieftain made the remarks while speaking with journalists on Sunday in Osogbo.

Mr Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council, expressed concern over the rising spate of killings by in Kwara, Borno, Zamfara, and Niger.

According to him, the heads of security agencies must take the bull by the horns and fight those involved in the killings and their sponsors.

The former lawmaker said Nigerians were living in fear and anxiety across the country despite the efforts of the security forces.

He urged the service chiefs not to rest on their laurels.

Mr Oyintiloye also advised the service chiefs to look inwards and fish out those who might be working against their relentless efforts to crush the activities of terrorists in the country completely.

“There is no doubt that the service chiefs are doing their best against these terrorists, but they need to be more ruthless with them. I will also urge them to look inward and fish out those who might be working against their efforts at the war front.

“This is important and necessary to restore public confidence in the security agencies and restore peace and security in the country. People are tired, and many of them are living in fear of the unknown due to the activities of those perpetrating violent crimes in the country,” he said.

The APC chieftain also highlighted the need for the service chiefs to involve local security networks in intelligence gathering to tackle the menace.

Mr Oyintiloye said people, especially stakeholders living in different communities, must be engaged in intelligence gathering, noting that this will go a long way in preventing terrorist activities and their attacks. He further said that the security agencies should also target the financial backbone of terrorist groups in the country to complement their efforts.

The lawmaker, however, commended President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly for providing the needed support and budgetary allocation for the security agencies to reduce violent crimes.

Mr Oyintiloye noted that with the cooperation of all stakeholders, acts of faith, patriotism, honesty, and the positive mindset of Nigerians, the country would defeat the menace of insecurity in due course. 

(NAN)