The National Security Council has said the National Task Force on Prohibition of Illegal Importation/Smuggling of Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons Chemical Weapons and Pipelines Vandalism (NATFORCE) is an illegal organisation.

Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola, who announced this to State House correspondents yesterday after the council’s meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, said highest executive security body in the country also passed a vote of confidence in the security chiefs in the ongoing fight against terrorism in the country.

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Aregbesola, who addressed correspondents with Police Affairs Minister Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, also said the council, having expressed satisfaction with the performance of security agencies in the fight against insecurity, concluded that the administration hoped to end security challenges by December this year.

He said: “The council has just concluded today’s meeting. It received briefings from all security chiefs and the council is very satisfied with the performances of all our security chiefs – the military, the police and other security agencies. We are happy with their performance and the gains recorded so far.

“We are moving to the phase of consolidation of all those gains such that by December, as ordered by the Chairman of the Council, the President, which he has said to all Nigerians before now, that we will put, essentially, most of the challenges of banditry, particularly insurgency, kidnapping for ransom, criminalities of that nature, far behind us.

“We are equally pleased with the performance of the Nigeria Police on the elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun, which have demonstrated our commitment to democracy and expression of the will of the people at the polls.”