A retired major general, Ishola Williams, says President Muhammadu Buhari is not in any danger in case of an attack on Aso Rock, the nation’s seat of power.
He stated this why reacting to a recent warning by the Nigeria Customers Service (NCS) that there were Boko Haram terrorist camps in and around the Federal Capital Territory.
Asked if Abuja and Aso Rock were in any danger, Williams stated that while an attack on the city could not be ruled out, the seat of power was practically impregnable.
“I don’t see any danger. Aso Rock is well fortified, and protected. It is difficult for anybody to penetrate Aso Rock.
“It will take hundreds, and hundreds of people to invade Aso Rock, and even at that the President will easily escape any invasion with the way the place was built.
“Concerning Abuja, the Defence headquarters has given assurance that residents should not panic. But the point is this, if Boko Haram wants to strike, they will easily do so,” Williams told Saturday Sun.
Read Also: Twitter influencer gives brutal review of Obudu Cattle Ranch
The respected anti-corruption campaigner expressed worry that Customs was giving such notices and charged the Department of State Services (DSS) to be more alive to its responsibilities.
Asked if Customs were the appropriate agency to raise such alarm, Williams stated, “To me, that’s nothing new. They’ve raised alarm like that in Lagos before but the Defence headquarters quickly re-assured people about their safety. But the point is this, why should it be the Customs that should be telling us this? Why not the DSS who are supposed to be the agency saddled with this kind of issue.
“Customs are supposed to be monitoring smugglers but raising this kind of alarm is beyond their mandate. This shows the kind of confusion we have in the nation’s security structure. It is surprising that the President who has been promising on several occasions to rejig the nation’s security architecture has failed to do anything about it.
“However, I don’t suspect Customs having any hidden agenda for raising the alarm. Having hidden agenda for what? Customs as an agency is supposed to be involved with collection of revenue apart from being on the track of smugglers. Their own intelligence is not to worry about Boko Haram, their own intelligence is to worry about smugglers. If they have any intelligence report about Boko Haram, their duty is to pass such information to the Police or the DSS. But since it seems the DSS is not doing its job, we thank Customs for raising this alarm.”
Leave a Reply