Insecurity and Six Suffocating Challenges

The Advocate By

Onikepo Braithwaite

Onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com

One doesn’t have to be Nostradamus to see that since President Donald Trump’s recent designation of Nigeria as a CPC (Country of Particular Concern) and his threat to invade Nigeria to wipe out Islamic terrorists, there have been two sets of reactions in Nigeria: 1) there has been an escalation of violence against Christians in Northern Nigeria (a mixture of terrorists angrily daring President Trump to make good on his threat to annihilate them, maybe some kind of twisted revenge on the Christians who cried loud enough against the terrorists to make President Trump hear, and others simply trying to destabilise Nigeria); and 2) the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) appears to have been spurred into some action, with regard to the fight against insecurity. It is rather unfortunate that, it has had to take American intervention to elicit some noticeable reaction from the FGN. Issues that should have been addressed previously, are only receiving attention consequent upon the harsh words of President Trump. 

Recent Incidents 

Last week, a Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Ekiti LGA, Kwara State was attacked, and at least three Church members were killed, one injured and 38, abducted. The terrorists who doubled as armed robbers – the CCTV cameras caught them stealing the bags of the worshippers from the pews – demanded N100 million ransom per abductee. Thankfully, the Church members are said to have been rescued. 

There was also the kidnap of 25 girls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, an incident in which their Vice Principal was killed, while last Friday morning, about 303 students and 12 Teachers were kidnapped from St Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State. So far, 66 Catholic students are said to have escaped from their abductors, while there still appeared to be no news of the Kebbi girls as at press time. 

Functions of Government and Security Agencies

Clearly, the successive FGN administrations have failed in the primary purpose of government, which is the security and welfare of Nigerians (see Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)(the Constitution). Similarly, the Armed Forces and Police are also guilty of same. See Sections 217(a)-(d) & 214 of the Constitution and Sections 1(3) & (4) & 4 of the Armed Forces Act 2004 (AFA) and the Nigeria Police Act 2020 (NPA) respectively.

Jointly, the FGN and its security agencies have failed to keep Nigerians safe. Also see Section 2 of the National Security Agencies Act 1986 (NSA Act). See Ozoinyi & Ors v Oguama (2017) LPELR-43775 (CA) per Joseph Tine Tur, JCA where the definition and functions of government were stated inter alia to be thus: “To defend its existence and integrity of its territory against both internal and external enemies, most governments maintain armed forces”. 

Reasons Why Nigeria’s Fight Against Insecurity has been Failing

There are several reasons, why Nigeria’s fight against insecurity has been failing. This is why it appears that, there may be a need for  external assistance to fight insecurity. The FGN has its work cut out for it, yet, over the years, it has failed and neglected to do the needful. There are serious lapses in Nigeria’s security architecture, that to date, are yet to be addressed, failing which the fight against internal insecurity will continue to be ineffective. 

Before I go into some of the challenges which I have identified for immediate action, this discussion would be incomplete without reiterating the fact once again that, without the FGN ensuring that Section 10 of the Constitution is upheld, it will not be able to fulfil Section 14(2)(b) thereof, which is its core constitutional mandate – the security and welfare of the people. I noticed that the issue of Sharia isn’t really being discussed, when it should be on the front burner. Beyond the operation of Islamic personal law for marriage, divorce and inheritance in the Sharia Courts, the adoption of Sharia Law in the 12 Northern States must be declared to be the unconstitutionality that it is. No State law is superior to the provisions of the Constitution – see Section 1(1) & (3) of the Constitution. A choice must be made by President Tinubu and the FGN, at this precipice – to be politically correct in order to keep the votes of Muslims in the North in breach of the Constitution, or to defend the Constitution (as they took an oath to do) and the security and stability of Nigeria. 

The choice of National Security Adviser (NSA) and Defence Minister, is fundamental and absolutely crucial to any country’s security. We see that in countries like USA, Russia and Israel, they are chosen carefully using certain parameters. In Nigeria, politics and other irrelevant qualities, instead of merit and capacity, drive such choices. I remember wondering how a Governor who was unable to secure his State, and probably lost his second term bid to return as Governor despite his defection to the ruling APC, due to his inability to provide security for his people, and instead was alleged to have been kowtowing to terrorists, would be selected as the best choice to be Minister of State of Defence of a humongous country like Nigeria, that is experiencing difficult security challenges on several levels. With all due respect, it is hard to see any wisdom in such a decision, where failure is the stimulant for selection for such a sensitive position. NSAs and Defence Ministers are usually seasoned in defence and strategy; sometimes retired soldiers who are experienced in battle, endowed with exceptional tactical skills and knowledge; intelligence chiefs and those with counter-insurgency experience, not individuals who appear to be clueless about security matters. 

1) Lack of Adequate Manpower

There are not enough Police personnel or members of the Armed Forces in Nigeria. Apparently, there are less than 400,000 Police personnel in Nigeria, a country whose population allegedly exceeds 200 million. The Police to Citizen ratio in Nigeria is about 1:600, while the UN recommended ratio is 1:450. Under the leadership of Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Egbetokun, about 30,000 new recruitments were made in 2024, a measure that should have been taken consistently over the last 10 years. On Sunday, President Tinubu approved the recruitment of an additional 30,000 Police Officers. This is a step, in the right direction. The Police is under-funded, and therefore, under-equipped, while their conditions of service are quite poor. 

 According to World Bank data, as of 2020, the Nigerian Army which has the largest number of personnel of the three Forces, has less than 150,000 soldiers! In total, there may be less than 300,000 members of the Armed Forces. According to World Bank data, as of 2020, the Nigerian Army which has the largest number of personnel of the three Forces, has less than 150,000 soldiers! In total, there may be less than 300,000 members of the Armed Forces. Some Military Officers, many of Southern origin, were unlawfully dismissed during Buratai’s tenure as COAS. Some of them went to court and won their cases; the NICN ruled that they should be reinstated immediately. To date, the court orders remain disobeyed by the Army, while brilliant Officers who should be on active duty defending Nigeria, are resting at home. This is however, a story for another day.

And, the FGN is supposed to be serious about the fight against insecurity, with inadequate manpower?! Meanwhile, out of this number, a good number of Police personnel have been seconded to Banks, VIPs etc, while members of the Armed Forces are seconded to retired Generals as household and personal staff, with even commissioned officers being used for sentry duty to guard private land, instead of being on active duty where their services are most required by Nigeria! Finally, President Tinubu has ordered the withdrawal of all Police personnel from VIPS, so that they can return to their core duties. This step should have been taken a long time ago. Is the security of VIPs, more important than that of Nigeria? I think not. 

2) Moles Within the Security Agencies

The cold blooded killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba, and the hazy circumstances that resulted in his horrible death, is an important part of this discussion. The question of how he ended up more or less alone, without any backup; the fact that the terrorists were able to locate him, before Nigerian military was able to rescue him. 

One argument is that there are many moles within the Nigerian security agencies, who provide terrorists and criminals with information about the security agencies, their tactics, strategies and plans. Some are even members of Boko Haram themselves, or sympathetic towards them. And, this is undeniable. I heard that in a particular situation, a Military Commanding Officer discovered that it was one of his personal staff, an orderly or so, that was the mole who was leaking their activities to insurgents. This is one of the main reasons, why I have always advocated for foreign assistance to fight insecurity in Nigeria. There is a need for people whose only goal is to quash insecurity, who have the requisite expertise and have no loyalty to anyone, except to the cause of victory in the fight against insecurity. The truth is that, no matter how skilled an army is, no matter how excellent a strategy is, as long as traitors exist within the ranks, the best plan in the world is bound to fail once it is leaked to the very enemies who the plan is meant to destroy. Ignoring this reality, is tantamount to engaging in self-deception and delusion.

In the past, I narrated the story of  British, Chris McManus and Italian, Franco Lamolinara, construction workers kidnapped by Boko Haram in Kebbi in 2011. Their rescue attempt failed, and they were killed by their abductors. I was in London at the time, and read about the failed rescue attempt in one of the British dailies. The reason the British newspaper provided for the failure of the rescue operation in its vivid account of the incident, was that the involvement of the Nigerian Army by the foreign authorities compromised the ‘secret’ rescue operation. The agenda was leaked. That when the rescue team approached the location where the abductees were being held the terrorists were already expecting them, they lay in wait, ambushed them, and opened fire on them. In short, the mole(s) within the Nigerian Army had pre-warned the Boko Haram terrorists about the impending rescue operation, thereby resulting in its frustration and failure. 

3) Lack of Ministry of Homeland Security 

Nigeria is a huge country, and it appears that apart from the Ministry of Defence whose core role is to handle external aggression and supervise the Armed Forces, a Homeland Security Ministry is also required to defend Nigeria’s internal security against the terrorism, kidnapping, herdsmen attacks, insurgency and the other security issues that the country is experiencing internally – see Ozoinyi & Ors v Oguama (Supra). In USA, this agency is responsible for the domestic security of the country. Nigeria could do with something like this – a central agency working with the Police, SSS, NIA etc, ensuring cohesion between them for a more effective response to internal insecurity. There will be a Minister who reports to the President on internal security, as opposed to the amorphous system that Nigeria currently operates, where today in one State, the President sends the   Police, in another, the SSS (DSS), and another the Army.   

4) Lack of Will on FGN and Security Agencies’ Part

In 2016, former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasiru El Rufai, had stated in an interview that the FGN and security agencies, including the Nigerian Army, knew the locations of terrorist camps and even listened to their telephone conversations, but failed to take decisive action against them! He said: “We know where their camps are. We know their camps, we have the maps; we know everything. We have their phone numbers and listen to their conversation sometimes”. At the time, the response of the FGN under President Buhari, was to denounce El Rufai as a talkative instead of taking action. Under President Tinubu, the reaction to this information must necessarily be different, if the FGN intends to treat the fight against insecurity with the seriousness it demands, and not the levity of the past. 

5) Corruption 

It is obvious that some people who may have been or are still in positions of authority, are gaining financially from the prolonged insecurity. From the supply of information to the enemy, to the illegal weapons trade, to the inflation of contracts, black market activities and of course, exploitation of mineral resources in conflict areas, for example, illegal mining of gold in Zamfara State. Even the purchase of substandard equipment.

6) Lack of Equipment 

Over the years, despite the huge monies that have been deployed for the purchase of equipment, the military is still under-equipped. Why? While Nigeria uses a variety of drones for surveillance and intelligence purposes, in such a war against terrorism, there’s still a lot that is required, such as Satellite systems, both space and ground; different kinds of sensors; unmanned ground vehicles; certain types of radar, to mention but a few. The Ministry of Interior should also be given every support necessary, to secure Nigeria’s porous borders and unmanned or remote areas, by means of technology. There must be more investment in security equipment, and strict oversight to ensure they are provided. 

Conclusion 

While Nigeria is trying to overhaul its security architecture and put the necessary measures in place, there is still an urgent need to improve security. These regular abductions and killings, mustn’t be allowed to continue. Has there be0en a security roundtable meeting with current and formers, to brainstorm on Nigeria’s insecurity? For instance, have the brains of people whom we have heard about in terms of capacity, such as Rtd General Aliyu Gusau and Rtd Col Kayode Are, been tapped? For the record, I do not know them; their reputation is what precedes them.

Adopting the US Homeland Security style may be a plus for Nigeria, as it would be an indication that Nigeria is putting in good measures to secure her people. But, in the meantime, if Nigeria is able to secure USA’s assistance to annihilate the terrorists once and for all, not as antagonists, but in friendship and partnership, why not? Amongst other things, US certainly has superior, state-of-the-art equipment that Nigeria requires in this fight. The FGN cannot afford to continue to give assurances, while Nigerians are kidnapped, raped, terrorised and killed. It is unacceptable.