The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has lamented the insecurity situation characterised by banditry, kidnapping and other related crimes ravaging the north.

The CDS declared that the security challenges in the Northern part of the country were being influenced by both external and internal factors such as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, political instability, and socio-economic factors like poverty and inequality.

Musa who spoke as a guest speaker at the Institute of Development Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, on Friday, insisted that the porous borders encouraged cross-border movements of criminals into the north.

He said, “Nigeria is of great socio-political importance to Africa and the world at large. Thus, the contemporary security situation in the country and the north is influenced by both external and internal factors.

“This is largely because Nigeria is a major actor in the sub-region. These amongst several other parameters are testaments of the importance of Nigeria in the continent and across the world.

“On the external scene, the situations in our contiguous nations and their other neighbours have also contributed to the insecurity in Northern Nigeria. For example, the political crisis in Libya and other sub-Saharan countries aggravated the security situation in Nigeria through the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons into the country through Chad and Niger.

“Relatedly, Nigeria shares 1,600 km total land border with the Republic of Niger, 1,975kms with the Republic of Cameroun and a total of 85Kms with Chad Republic. Nigeria also shares a total distance of 809 km with Benin, most of which are in the north.

“The common denominator in all these borders is their porous nature which encourages cross-border movements of criminal elements including the Boko Haram Terrorists, Islamic States of West Africa Province, bandits, kidnappers, armed militias and violent herdsmen among other criminal elements.”

Musa added that a lot of citizens in Northern part of the country shared cultural and tribal ties with neighbouring countries, making the restriction of unauthorised cross-border movement difficult to enforce or control while also linking the devastating effect of change in the region (north) resulting to increased desertification and the shrinking of the Lake Chad as another factor causing insecurity in the north.

“This has led to the quest for water and grazing areas thus resulting in clashes and killings, especially across the North West and North Central Regions of the country,” he said.