The Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Jude Arogundade, has described as saddening the position of the Federal Government that bandits and terrorists are prodigal sons who deserve a second chance in life.

While describing the stance of the government as insulting to the intelligence of Nigerians, Arogundade emphasised that the claim was an indication that the government is unserious with its determination to combat insecurity in the country.

According to the cleric, who spoke after the Mass to commemorate Palm Sunday at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Akure, yesterday, bandits and terrorists have practically declared war against Nigeria and its government, and all the law-abiding citizens of the country.

Arogundade also urged Ondo Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to devise means of curbing the spate of kidnapping and other forms of insecurity across the state, following the attack on a health facility in the Oke Ijebu area of Akure over the weekend.

The bishop, who stressed that a lot needed to be done by the federal and state governments on the protection of lives and properties of the people, expressed displeasure over the rate of kidnapping in the state.

He maintained that the governor needed to be more proactive, saying the bandits were gradually entering the state capital.

THIS is even as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen Waidi Shaibu, has ordered troops and other security agencies in the country to sustain relentless, proactive, and intelligence-driven operations against terrorists and other criminal elements across the federation.

According to a statement by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Appolonia Anele, the COAS gave the directive at the weekend while addressing troops of the Headquarters Nigerian Army Armour Corps and 33 Artillery Brigade at Shadawanka Barracks, Bauchi.

Shaibu, who charged the troops to maintain a high level of operational readiness and intensify efforts to decisively engage and neutralise terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and other criminal elements within their areas of responsibility, emphasised that operational effectiveness and troop welfare remain critical to the Nigerian Army’s success in combating insecurity.