The Federal Government has requested the support of Borno State residents and elders to address insurgency and insecurity in the country.

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Tuesday called on Nigerians and the people of Borno State in particular, to support President Muhammadu Buhari. In his efforts at ending the insurgency facing the country.

In his speech titled, ‘The People as the Cornerstone of Security’, Aregbesola stated that the summit was called to tap from the wealth of experience of the Kanem Borno Empire which subsisted for 1,200 years.

In a statement on Wednesday by the ministry of interior spokesman, Mohammed Manga, Aregbesola noted that the President and members of his cabinet were greatly pained by the hardships Nigerians were going through on account of the security challenges in some parts of the country.

It added that the government was determined to do “whatever is necessary to bring an end to the activities of these marauders.”

The statement was titled, ‘FG holds stakeholders engagement on internal security.’         

The minister, who said that the government has renewed its stand to do whatever is necessary to stamp out insecurity from parts of the country where it exists, stating that the challenges were surmountable.

In his words, “Some nations have faced them before and have come out victorious. We are going to do the same and nothing is going to stop us.

“But to be able to win, we need the support of the people. We must understand that the defence and security architectural complex is a pyramid.”

“Sitting on the top is the military, followed by the police, next are the other security agencies and at the base, carrying and supporting the complex, are the people who are the security-agency-at-large,” the minister noted.

Aregbesola said further that in every secure nation, especially the developed ones, security is contingent on the information supplied by the citizens, their cooperation with the security agencies and acting in the best interest of the nation.

“Any security agency operating within a national space that disregards the support of the people is simply doomed in its mission of defence and security,” he stated.

The minister acknowledged that formidable military might and cutting-edge technology were necessary in the fight against crime and criminality, but observed that without the support of the people, they may be ineffective.

Borno State Governor, Prof. BabaganaZulum, assured the people that the government and people of Borno State would continue to support the FG’s efforts to contain insecurity.