Nigeria

Abba Kyari’s interference undermining war against Boko Haram - NSA Monguno alleges

Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 8:54 AM by Wale Akinola

- NSA Babagana Monguno has sent a warning message to the nation's service chiefs

- The NSA warned them against taking any further directive from Buhari's chief of staff, Abba Kyari

- Monguno, however, alleged that Kyari is undermining the war against insurgents in the country

A report by Premium Times indicates that Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief of staff, Abba Kyari, of undue interference on matters bordering on national security.

Legit.ng gathered that the development led the NSA to send a warning memo to all service chiefs to desist from taking further directives from Kyari.

This was contained in a document sighted by the online news platform.

According to the report, Monguno said Kyari’s directives to service chiefs were sometimes issued without the knowledge, much less approval of the president, a practice he said has added to the government’s inability to contain insecurity.

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“Chief of staff to the president is not a presiding head of security, neither is he sworn to an oath of defending the country.

Abba Kyari’s interference affecting undermining war against Boko Haram - NSA Monguno declares — The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno
Source: UGC

“As such, unprofessional practices such as presiding the meetings with service chiefs and heads of security organisations as well as ambassadors and high commissioners to the exclusion of the NSA and/or supervising ministers are a violation of the constitution and directly undermine the authority of Mr. President.

“Such acts and continues meddlesomeness by the chief of staff have not only ruptured our security and defence efforts but have slowed down any meaningful gain that Mr. President has sought to achieve,” Monguno, a retired major-general, said in the December 9, 2019, letter.

Monguno’s letter came as insecurity returns to centre stage as a major cause for worry among Nigerians.

It would be recalled that violent attacks linked to bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers and vandals have continued to claim multiple lives and properties across the country.

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Security experts, opposition and federal lawmakers have responded by advising the president to fire his service chiefs.

The service chiefs have been unable to end Boko Haram insurgents since 2015 when Buhari named them to take charge of various arms of the nation’s security architecture.

The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, said in recent media interviews that the military has degraded insurgents’ capacity to attack Abuja and other cities outside the war-ravaged northeast.

The report also noted that the national security sources said on Monday, February 17, that the fresh memo showed how Kyari has helped in keeping the service chiefs in office despite overwhelming call for their ouster.

"It also underscored the frustration faced by Monguno and others who found Kyari’s influence over the president too domineering for national benefit," the sources were reported to have said.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Nigeria's minister of communication and digital economy, Isa Ibrahim Pantami, reacted to the threat to his life by a factional leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau.