The warning came amid plans by the government to investigate the tape aired on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) network news of Tuesday in which some masked men declared their intention to negotiate with the government.
Yesterday too, Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Dahiru Dikko Abubakar, visited the Defence Headquarters complex where he meet with Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar, towards strengthening the partnership between the police and the military in order to curtail the current security challenges facing the nation.
The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, yesterday lamented the impact of the terror attacks by Boko Haram on Northern Nigeria, saying that its economy was on the brink of collapse. He said that the region needed more peace to accelerate its development.
The minister also said that the Federal Government wanted to know the authenticity of the NTA tape and the speakers.
Maku told journalists at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, that the attack on Kano was an attack on not only the centre of commerce in the North but also Niger, Chad and northern Cameroun.
He expressed sadness that a supposed Islamic sect could talk of attacking Sokoto, the seat of the Caliphate and spiritual headquarters of Muslims in Nigeria.
He said: "If a part of this country is in need of peace today, it is northern Nigeria. From all the statistics, we are still behind in infrastructure, in literacy level and in industrialisation. So, we need peace and this peace will only be made possible when all stakeholders are involved. Each time the issues of security comes up, I believe it only highlights the importance the security issues have assumed in the life of our country at the moment. Specifically on terrorism, which unfortunately has become part of our lives, government approach to it has been very consistent. There is no confusion about it. The first approach that government has taken is to develop capacity to contain it, to defeat it, to fight it as it unfolds until we are able to overcome it. You have seen this in the last one year, particularly that government has consistently invested in security and the results are paying off. If you look at what has gone on in the last few months, you have seen that gradually, our intelligence services particularly have improved significantly in their capacity and reach. And a lot of arrests are being made, almost routinely.
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