The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen.Chris Musa, on Tuesday led Service Chiefs, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to brief the House of Representatives on the state of insecurity in the country, pointing out the challenges and successes recorded.
Also present at the briefing were the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogala and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar.
At the commencement of the briefing,
Chief of Defence Staff Musa told lawmakers that they were out of Abuja last Thursday, hence their absence was not deliberate and apologized to the House.
Speaking on the state of insecurity, Gen. Musa said the military and security forces have realized that the magic wand to address insecurity is good governance, stressing that “anywhere you have good governance, insecurity goes down.”
He said the military can achieve so much in the North-East because there is an element of good governance, adding that security is only the responsibility of security forces but everybody.
“We have also realized that the magic wand to address insecurity is good governance. Anywhere you have good governance, insecurity goes down. Security is not only military security. We have food security, health security, social security, and education security. All these always play a role. If we don’t put these things in place – good governance -there will be problems.
“In the North-East, we can achieve so much because we have an element of good governance. We have seen governors that are willing and doing things to make the people happy and that is why we are having the cases of success we are having,” Musa.
While decrying the issue of the judiciary as a hindrance to the war against insecurity, Musa said: “I have been in the North-East, there were a lot of Boko Haram elements that have been captured. We have kept them for five/six years. We the armed forces can arrest but cannot prosecute. Some of them have been found wanting but no prosecution.
“We have the issue in the South-south. A lot of the ships, the last ship that was arrested was 10 years ago, the ship went and changed its name, changed its color, and came back again. By the time you hand over the ship, before you know it, it is released. I think that is one area we must look into. We must have a special court to look into it.”
He also lamented the issue of correctional facilities, saying: “In the Northeast, when we were debriefing some of arrested Boko Haram, they told us how from the prison, they could plan operations out in the field.
“They pass funds across. They use some of the warders there. We are not saying all of them are corrupt. They use their accounts and the deal is that anyone whose account is used shares it 50/50. Those are the challenges.
On his part, the
Inspector General Police, Egbetokun said the Force intends to join the military in fighting terrorism in the North-East; armed banditry in the North -West and North Central; kidnapping, and armed robbery across the country and reducing violent crime in the country to the barest minimum.
The Police Boss said it was in a bid to achieve this that he announced the establishment of a special intervention squad, which is going to be a stand-by unit of at least 1000 men in each of the states.
“These men will be specially trained. They will be specially equipped. They will be specially ruminated and ready for deployment at the shortest notice to any area, of the country where there are crises,” he said.
On his part, Chief Naval StaffOgalla said the Navy was doing its best to secure the nation’s territorial waters despite the resurgence of sea pirates, oil thieves, and operational challenges of manpower, and funds, among others.
“The Navy is just about 30,000 for now. We are making efforts to expand the size of the navy and train them adequately to be able to meet its objectives,” he said.
“With adequate support, we should be able to tackle activities of oil theft, pipeline vandalization, and illegal refineries irrespective of the weather.
Also speaking, Chief of Air Staff Abubakar said the Force embarked on a wide range of intensive operations aimed at not only decimating the criminals and denying them freedom of action but also shaping the operational environment in the various theatres for a successful ground offensive.
He said despite achievements recorded, the Nigerian Air Force experienced some challenges including rising cost of aviation fuel, delays in the release of funds for procurements, complexity in targeting terrorists within the populace, porous borders, and manpower disposition.
Similarly, Chief of Army Staff Lagbaja said insecurity in the country has reduced due to effective intelligence gathering and deployment of ground troops in areas of heightened insecurity.
He said amid teething challenges, the Army has soldiered on and established operational bases in the North-East, South-East, North-Central, and South-West geo-political zones to address insurgency, banditry, and other criminal activities
Lagbaja also said the Nigerian Army has established a Forward Operational Base (FOB) designed to ensure that troops are adequately deployed to respond to emergencies.
In his opening remarks, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen said the session with the heads of security agencies was an important opportunity to brief the House on the progress made so far and other lingering challenges.
“Members will be able to ask questions on context-specific issues, and you will be given ample time to respond to the issues raised.
“Through this interaction, we aim to foster collaboration in tackling the multiple security challenges that confront us.
“I urge all members of this esteemed House to approach these briefings with an open mind and a commitment to serving our constituents and our country,” he said.
