Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, says it won’t be a bad idea if the Nigerian government embark on the mooted idea of erecting a border fence to prevent easy access for bandits from crisis-infested countries and end porosity.

Speaking at a media meeting held at the DHQ in Abuja, Gen. Musa hinted that those thinking that building a border fence would be too expensive should consider the consequences of running a porous border, given the rise of insecurity in Benue and other states.

He added that the present insecurity and war in the Sahel states comprising Sudan, Central African Republic and Libya pose serious dangers to Nigeria as terrorists, bandits and arms dealers plan to use Nigeria as a dwelling point because they believe the country is rich, with immense resources.

“Those thinking that building a border fence to protect our country from these crisis-infested countries and end porosity would be too expensive should learn from countries like Pakistan, which built a border wall separating the country from Afghanistan, a double border wall in a square size that is bigger than Nigeria,” he said.

Gen Musa also posited that these multi-faceted threats underscore the urgent need for a comprehensive, multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary approach. He added that the Armed Forces have fully embraced the Whole-of-Society Approach: a framework that encourages synergy among the military, government institutions and the people as a unified trinity in the fight against insecurity.

He charged Nigerians to provide adequate intelligence and not turn a deaf ear to happenings around them, adding that such nefarious moves, if quickly nipped in the bud, would prevent wanton destruction of lives and properties.

The Chief of Defence Staff revealed that the Army recently received intelligence of a planned attack by killer herders on another community in Benue State, only to discover that the attack took place elsewhere.

“When troops received intelligence that bandits were on their way to attack some communities in the state in different locations, troops mobilized and deployed to the named communities but on getting there, discovered the intelligence was not factual, only to learn the attack was elsewhere, “This is why we always say communities should provide us with information.

”See something and report to security agencies. The criminals were given accommodation in the community. They were given food to eat. They were even given women before the attacks, yet the security agencies were not informed,” he said