House Calls on FG to Consider Hiring Private Defence Contractors to Tackle Insurgency, Terrorism

*Calls for creation of local security committees in all 774 LGAs

Adedayo Akinwale

The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to immediately consider the use of private defence contractors for targeted security operations to combat insurgency and terrorism in the country.

This was contained in the recommendations made by the Special Committee on National Security to proffer solutions to issues relating to insecurity in the country, which was laid before the House on July 8, 2021 and read by the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, at the plenary on Tuesday.

The House recently held a security summit as part of efforts to proffer solutions to the security challenges facing the country.

It said: “Give immediate consideration to the use of private defence contractors for targeted security operations to combat insurgency and terrorism especially.”

The House also called for immediate enhanced training for the Police Mobile Unit to improve their capacity to deal with insecurity.

It added that a special team of 40,000 Police Mobile Unit officers should undergo this special training, while 1,000 should be deployed in every state for immediate operations in the North-east, while the South-west and South-east can receive the officers remaining out of the 40,000 officers.

The Green Chamber also called on the federal government to create a new team under the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to train and work with the guards of Nigeria’s forest, saying this unit would collaborate with the current Forest Guards who will remain under the control of states.

It urged the federal government to encourage the intelligence agencies working with the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Defence Staff to initiate a screening and vetting programme of all front line officers of the Nigerian military to fish out moles and doubles agents who have so far compromised most efforts at combating insecurity and win the war against insurgents and terrorists.

The House further urged the direct use of the Nigerian Police Trust Fund to procure some of the immediate equipment needed by the rank-and-file police officers in Nigeria.

The House noted that this intervention would include the procurement of modern critical equipment for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as specified by the leadership of the NPF.

The House also called on the federal government to support the creation of local security committees in all 774 local government areas, adding that the panel should include traditional rulers, religious institutions and local opinion leaders, which should be managed by the NPF as part of its community policing mandate.

It urged the federal government to deploy early warning systems nationwide including installation of CCTV cameras and other surveillance, satellite and electronic equipment along major highways, public places and major cities and borders.

The House also called on the government to establish and strengthen a National Crisis Centre (NCC) within the Nigerian Police, adding that the NCC would be the national coordinating centre for all civil security response actions and monitoring

of resolutions of such with monthly reporting on all incidents.

It added that the country must take major steps to control the flow of illegal arms into the country, by strengthening the control of the country’s borders to detect and seize any illegal shipment of

arms into the country, arrest and prosecute any person associated with the illegal flow of arms into the country.

The House said Nigeria should reach out to overseas arms dealers to enlist their cooperation against the sales of arms to non-state actors.

It added that there should be a major diplomatic initiative with the governments of countries known to have companies engaged in selling arms to non-state actors.

The House stated: “Continuous arms collection and depository scheme should be established nationally to encourage disposal and collection of illegal firearms.”

It urged the federal government to ensure the development of grazing reserves and ranching should be pursued in lower population areas, adding that pilot schemes should commence immediately in all states that are positively

disposed to it.

The House called on the federal government to strengthen the judicial and law enforcement administration through a digitisation initiative for the judiciary.

It noted that this would speed up the administration of justice and reduce corruption, stressing that swift administration of justice would help reduce causes of disaffection which feeds into insecurity.

The House called on the federal government to strengthen and instruct widespread use of the centralised national criminal database by the NPF and mandate access for other security agencies, providing resources to ensure this can

be done, saying this should also include modernization of the national fingerprint database.