BY DANIEL IDONOR
ABUJA — IN a move to curtail the excesses of the deadly group, Boko Haram, the Federal Government has ordered the immediate re-activation of 22 border security posts across its four contiguous neighbours.

A top security source said on the list of the identified contiguous borders are Chad, Niger, Benin and Cameroun while Mali is also being watched closely.

The directive followed the outcome of a security parley of top spies from the affected five countries in Abuja, where participants pledged their commitment to fight terrorism, endorsed the measures being put in place by Nigeria to curb the menace.

The move which has received the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan, is coming as part of stringent measures to tackle recent threats to national peace and security particularly from the Boko Haram islamic sect.

According to the sources, which preferred anonymity, the re-opening of these security posts is a major and welcome security strategy by the administration.

, as negligence of the posts by previous regimes have made them porous for smuggling of light arms and trans-border crimes to thrive.

The source added that though Mali does not have same border with Nigeria, its inclusion in the security watch-list became imperative because of its strong Al Qaeda linkages.

It was gathered that Nigeria will supervise border patrols across the 22 posts in partnership with security personnel in the listed countries, who will be mostly trained in Nigeria.

The reopening of the border posts is expected to checkmate the influx of illegal immigrants and weapons, especially from neighboring Niger which reportedly remains the most porous entrance for trans border criminals into Nigeria.

Already security authorities in the listed countries have met with their Nigerian counterparts and pledged full co-operation in the fight against trans-border crimes proliferation of light weapons.

The fresh approach to security issues in Nigeria is coming few days after President Jonathan directed Ministries, Departments And Agencies, MDAs to volunteers capable hands to be trained by his security forces on counter terrorism and emergency response strategies.

The officials will manage related security issues in their respective MDAs to complement the efforts of key security agencies in the country.

Already, the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, it was learnt has ordered a 24 hours surveillance around all hotels that have over fifty room capacity while all public infrastructure and private recreational centres are now to be manned by plain-clothes security operatives.

A top Presidency source told Vanguard that the different security agencies have intensified physical security checks across the FCT and major cities across the country as well as deployment of intelligences personnel’s to busy hotels and offices across the country.

Federal Government, the source said, was also discussing with border countries on the need for a mutual cooperation in dealing with the emerging security challenges along the border towns and cities within the West African sub-region.

“We are doing our best to ensure that we protect the lives and property of the citizenry and foreigners in this country”, the source stated further adding that once the government puts the entire new security apparatus into use, “you can be sure that these criminals causing so much trouble for the government will be taken care of adequately”.

The source urged Nigerians to ensure that the war on terrorism is not left for the government alone to handle.

“The fight on terrorism should be a collective one because the man or woman who has turned himself or herself into a weapon of destruction is difficult to monitor so every Nigeria should consider this fight his or her own. It must not be left for the government to fight alone,” the source appealed.