Starting from the first quarter of 2020, the federal government will begin to withdraw military presence in some areas of the country hitherto considered volatile, The Cable has reported.

This was part of the decisions reached during the closed-door meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the nation’s service chiefs held on Monday, December 30.

The report said Ibok-Ete Ibas, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) made this known when he spoke with journalists after the meeting in Aso Rock.

The military had taken charge of the nation’s internal security through some of its operations in the country’s various zones, but CNS Ibas said the military personnel would be gradually withdrawn after an assessment of areas involved.

He further noted that withdrawing the military operations would allow the personnel focus on their primary tasks of defending the country against external aggression.

According to him, the assessment of the security situations is to be sure which of the affected areas have become peaceful enough for military operations to be withdrawn.

“It is the work of the police to handle internal security, since Nigeria is not at war,” he said.

“The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps will support the police to provide internal security. Also, you will remember that additional 10,000 personnel were approved for the police recently for recruitment,” he said.