RismadarVoice Reporters, June 2, 2026
Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Turkur Buratai (retd.), has said that Nigerian security agencies possess the capacity to track and locate bandits, just as they can locate ordinary citizens and social media influencers.
Buratai asserted on Monday while speaking during an interview on TVC, where he commented on the country’s security challenges and the recent abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State.
The former army chief was responding to questions on whether security forces can rescue the abducted victims and tackle rising incidents of banditry and kidnapping across the country.
“I don’t believe security agencies cannot locate bandits if they can locate ordinary citizens and social media influencers,” Buratai said.
He, however, noted that while he would not describe the situation as a capacity challenge, there may be operational factors influencing security responses.
According to him, there is still a need for continuous capacity building across all security agencies to strengthen their effectiveness in combating crime and insecurity.
“I would not like to say it is a capacity-building challenge, but I think they may have their reasons. What I know is that there must be capacity building of all the security agencies,” he stated.
Buratai further called for increased recruitment into the military, police and other security services, stressing the need for more personnel to address the country’s growing security demands.
“We need more troops to be recruited, more operatives and more policemen need to be recruited, trained and retrained,” he added.
His remarks come amid public concern over the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State, an incident that reportedly resulted in the killing of one of the teachers by the kidnappers.
The former army chief emphasised the importance of strengthening security institutions through improved manpower, training and operational capacity to effectively tackle emerging threats across the country.
