Shun those who have soft spot for terrorists, bandits – Stan-Labo

…Says Tinubu lacks political will to tackle insecurity

By Bisi LAWAL

President Bola Tinubu has been admonished to shun those who have soft spot for terrorists and bandits.

A security expert, Col. Hassan Stan-Labo (rtd) gave the advice while speaking on Arise TV Morning Show.

Stan-Labo, who was actively involved in the restoration of peace in war-torn Sierra Leone and Liberia in the 80s and 90s lamented that the president is yet to exhibit the political will to tackle the spate of insecurity in the country.

The war veteran frowned on the idea of granting amnesty to terrorists, adding that the President still have ample opportunity to confront perpetrators of insecurity with all the seriousness it deserves.

He argued that not much has changed in the country on the issue since Tinubu assumed the mantle of leadership of the country.

Stan-Labo referred to the President’s refusal to visit the affected communities in Plateau State, where gunmen killed no fewer than 160 persons on Christmas Eve and day to buttress his claim.

He said: “The political will to tackle this menace seems to be lacking. We are beginning to witness a semblance of what happened in the last administration.

“The political will is weak. One would have expected the Commander-in-Chief to come out in helicopter in a military gear to assure villagers that ‘we can get this rubbish done with’, and even talking to the service chiefs to produce perpetrators of the dastard act.

“This is the sort of decisiveness we expect from the Commander-in-Chief. Is it so difficult to crush these guys? What is happening?”

The security expert urged the President not to listen to those who have soft spot for terrorists and bandits in the country.

Faulting the centralisation of security structures at the federal level, he argued that the establishment of state police would go a long way in addressing the security challenges in the polity.

He contended that former President Muhammadu Buhari did nothing regarding the issue of tackling insecurity in the country while he held sway for eight years.