This is what president told security chiefs during meeting

President Muhammadu Buhari has just concluded a three-hour long meeting with the nation’s security and defence chiefs.

The meeting held at the presidential villa and was an emergency one.

Unlike previous meetings, the heads of Customs, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Nigeria Fire Service attended this meeting.

The heads of the army, navy, air force and police—who traditionally attended these meetings in the past—were also at the villa for this one.

No one willing to speak

However, mum was the word when the security chiefs emerged from the villa after this meeting.

None of them answered questions from State House Correspondents about what was discussed with the president.

However, Pulse has been told that prevailing security concerns topped the agenda during talks.

Riot act

A presidential aide disclosed to Pulse that Buhari read the riot act to the heads of security outfits across the country; given the incessant herdsmen attacks and killings that daily dominate the headlines.

“It was a wakeup call kind of meeting. Nothing more. This was about everyone doubling their efforts with all the herdsmen killings in the north central. The president is particularly worried that even . The president practically told everyone to do better...to sit up”, the aide told Pulse while pleading that his name be left out of this story because he hadn't been authorized to speak.

President Buhari all but corroborated what this source told Pulse when he tweeted the following:

“Today I presided over a meeting of the security council. We fully understand the seriousness and urgency of Nigeria's security issues, and are determined to implement carefully considered solutions that will not only earn the confidence of Nigerians, but also stand the test of time”.

Buhari also charged security agencies to improve on intelligence gathering and sharing in a climate where criminals and terrorists are becoming more and more spohisticated.

"One of the resolutions from our security meeting today is that all our law enforcement agencies must take intelligence-gathering and sharing much more seriously. The Police and DSS especially have been charged to step up their efforts and capacity in this regard.

"Our law enforcement agencies must at all times stay ahead of bandits and criminals, wherever they are across the country, by efficiently gathering, sharing and acting on credible Intelligence. I am assuring that we will give them all the support needed to succeed", the president said.

The meeting comes just hours after the presidency secured the release of three lecturers of the University of Maiduguri and 10 police officers' wives who were abducted by the Boko Haram sect in June of 2017.

'Dishonest and unfair'

Last week, Buhari told members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) that it is unfair for anyone to accuse him of sitting pretty while the herdsmen ravage the land.

“It is quite frankly dishonest and unfair to insinuate that I am sitting doing nothing, while these killings are going on. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have and will continue to act in line with my responsibility as President to ensure security of lives and property”, Buhari had said.