Defence Minister, Bashir Magashi, says the rising cost of food prices across the country is as a result of the prevalence of insecurity in the country.

Magashi said this on Monday at the opening of a retreat for defence advisers/attaches, organised the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Abuja.

“The threats currently facing Nigeria and understanding their socio-geographic context is pivotal for adapting appropriate and lasting counter-measures. Regrettably, the prevalence of these threats has continued to endanger not only national security and economic growth, but also food security.

In particular, food security has been adversely affected with the attendant rise in the prices of foodstuff across the country which portends a new dimension of threat.

This makes it imperative for the various security agencies in the country to continue to collaborate to tackle this menace in order to create an enabling atmosphere for economic activities to thrive and to attract foreign direct investment.

It also means that the security agencies must explore all avenues within their respective systems to come up with innovative ways of identifying and confronting the challenges facing us as a nation.”he said