Terrorists can’t stop my foreign trips, says Buhari

• Jets out to Dakar, after visiting Kuje prison
• Expresses disappoinment with security system

The Presidency has replied critics of President Muhammadu Buhari’s trip to Dakar, Senegal, hours after terrorists invaded Kuje prison.

A statement by presidential aide Garba Shehu, on Wednesday evening said, “Governments don’t stop working because nations face terrorist threats.

“To cancel the trip to Senegal would mean that the terrorists are successful in calling the shots, something that no responsible government in the world will allow.”

The President had come under criticism for his frequent travels abroad. This year alone, he has made 10 foreign trips before the Dakar’s journey today, according to Daily Trust.

He visited Portugal last week and participated at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon June 27 to July 1. He returned home last weekend.

President Buhari also attended the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM from June 20 to 26, 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Also, on June 4, he attended an Extraordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Authority of Heads of State and Government on the political situation in Mali and other parts of the sub-region in Accra, Ghana.

On June 1, he embarked on a two-day state visit to Madrid, the capital city of Spain, at the invitation of his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez.

Meanwhile, President Buhari also on Wednesday expressed disappointment with the intelligence system at the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Kuje, Abuja.

Buhari, who spent about 30 minutes when he visited the facility attacked by terrorists on Tuesday night, said, “I am disappointed with the intelligence system. How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”

He was earlier briefed about the attack by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, and the Controller General of Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, who showed him the bombed-out section used to access first, and the records office which was set on fire, adding that the invaders thereafter launched an attack on all cells in which Boko Haram terrorists were held.

The President was also told that none of the 63 terrorists could be accounted for.

Buhari said, “How did the defence at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?”

The President was also informed that the security forces had recaptured 350 of the escapees while about 450 others were still unaccounted for, and that rapid work is under way to recapture the rest.

The President, accompanied by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff, said at the end of the visit that he was expecting “a comprehensive report” on the incident.