Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, stressed that the national security threats “pose an immediate danger to the corporate existence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, stability and sustainable development of the nation”.

He added: “Consequently, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Force, President Muhammadu Buhari, has given a clear mandate for action.

“As a result of the Presidential directive, the Armed Forces of Nigeria is already seized with actions to immediately stabilise the situation,” he said.

Irabor assured Nigerians that the military will enhance its kinetic operations in tackling the prevailing security challenges confronting the nation.

Kinetic military action is a euphemism for military action involving active warfare, including lethal force.

“Our strategic objectives are manifold and imbued to neutralise non-state actors and other agents of violence in our communities, forests and countryside to stabilise the security situation across the nation, to facilitate law and order and, lastly, to provide the enabling environment for peace and development.

“These presuppose that the military would need support from other security agencies during operations and would be required to give support to others at different stages of internal security efforts.

“On behalf of the officers and men/women of the Armed Forces, I pledge our unalloyed loyalty to C-in-C and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The mandate shall be delivered; fear and despair shall be extinguished from our land. Nigeria will have peace again,” he said.

The House of Representatives minority caucus said the body language of some state actors was encouraging criminality.

Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu called for an investigation of the assassination attempt on Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom.

He said: “We are alarmed by this brazen attempt by outlaws to assassinate a democratically elected governor in our country.