Tight Security In Yobe After Jonathan’s Visit

A day after President Goodluck Jonathan visited Yobe State, security personnel deployed in Damaturu the state capital, yesterday kept vigil in the metropolis. Some residents told LEADERSHIP WEEKEND that the heavy presence of security men in streets and the numerous checkpoints had heightened anxiety among them.

Security operatives in the state told journalists that the subjection of people to serious checks was because Yobe and Borno states were the den of terrorists in the North-East zone.

A security officer near the Government House, Damaturu, said that following the official visit of President Jonathan to the state, and a fresh threat by Boko Haram leaders, there was need to ensure tight security in the state.

While Jonathan was in the state, security agents at the entrance of the Government House had a hectic time controlling the crowd, who came out to see their president. One of the security officers said, “I was not brought in from Abuja and I will not fail in my responsibility. As far as I am concerned, the president is everything and must be protected. Any other person coming to witness the president’s visit is a potential threat to the security of Mr. President.”

One of the elders who came for the stakeholders’ parley with President Jonathan at the Wawa Hall, Alhaji Nuhu Idrisa, told our correspondent that security personnel from the Aso Rock Villa “have no respect for elders.”

He said: “We cannot eat Mr. President; the security agents are checking everything and almost disgracing me. The only thing they did not do was to ask me to strip myself naked. It is their work but they should do it with respect and wisdom. As Nigerians, we have the right to be treated with dignity, and as natives of Yobe, we should not be treated as terrorists.”

Another stakeholder, Mallam Inusa Nguru, told journalists that sometimes “it is bad to judge somebody before hearing from him. We all thought that the president never liked the people of Yobe State, but today (Thursday) we are happy to hear from him and to note that he is not the type of person they portray him to be.”

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