President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday rejected calls to dismiss his military chiefs under whose supervision insecurity has worsened in the country.

Nigerians, including national security experts, have prevailed on the president to sack military chiefs, especially Chief of Army Tukur Buratai, for their inability to check growing kidnapping, armed banditry and terrorism.

The president, in his second statement since 110 farmers were killed by Boko Haram in Borno over the weekend, said he would rather channel additional resources to the armed forces.

Read the president’s full statement below:

Nothing is more important than ensuring the security of lives and property of Nigerians. Everything is secondary when security is at stake. I will ensure that more resources are made available to the military and other security agencies to prosecute the war against terrorism.

As we mourn all the lives lost in Zabarmari, the Armed Forces have been given the marching order to take the fight to the insurgents, not on a one-off, but on a continuous basis, until we root out the terrorists.

We will intensify our cooperation with neighbouring countries on bilateral and multilateral levels, to ensure that there is no hiding place for the terrorists.

As I noted earlier, the massacre by Boko Haram in Zabarmari is nothing short of senseless, barbaric, gruesome and cowardly. It reinforces our resolve to root out all forms of insurgency and insecurity not just in Borno but everywhere across Nigeria.