Insecurity: Wase’s Selfishness, Govt’s Clay Feet

The Advocate

By Onikepo Braithwaite

Onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com

We are aware that Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) (the Constitution), guarantees the right to freedom of expression, but, still, it is discouraging, and can even be dangerous, when people in positions of authority, responsible for crucial areas of governance, show by their words that they are ignorant or  do not understand their roles, or if they do, they do not care less about them, or they lack the will to perform, or are simply not fit for purpose. A combination of absurd public statements, particularly at such a time when Nigeria is passing through serious security difficulties, can only create more apprehension in the polity. Public officials are expected to be circumspect, choosing their words wisely when making public statements. 

Hon. Wase’s Self -Centred Submission 

To say that I was ashamed, is an understatement, when I heard the selfish, self-centred and self-serving submission of Hon. Idris Wase, that the withdrawal of Police personnel from VIPs could lead to more kidnappings, obviously of VIPs. To tell the truth, this is the second time that I have heard Hon. Wase make a submission on the floor of the House, and both times, they have been unimpressive. In 2021, I believe I referred to his first submission as asinine, when he had blurted out that Nigerians in the Diaspora weren’t in a position to present a petition to the House of Representatives (HOR) about insecurity and the displaced people in Benue State, because they do not reside in Nigeria and could therefore, not know what is happening there! And, he was the Deputy Speaker of the HOR at the time. On my page, I had wondered out loud, whether Hon. Wase wasn’t aware that the world had shrunk into a global village as a result of technology, so that as soon as anything occurs, within minutes, the information is spread all over the world, or that Diasporans had their families in Nigeria that could easily update them? 

As far as opposing the withdrawal of Police security for VIPs, even though on application, they can be replaced by Civil Defence, it reveals the mindset of people like Wase, who couldn’t care less about the security and welfare of Nigerians that are attacked daily, and are only concerned about their own personal safety and that of their families. Just imagine! A person who is part of government, and government’s primary responsibility is the security and welfare of the people (see Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution), is only concerned about the safety of himself and his VIP group! And, we wonder why Nigeria is in such a precarious situation? When such so-called leaders are unconcerned about the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy (Chapter II of the Constitution), and look at governance only through the lenses of self-preservation, and self-this and that. This is troubling. 

It is an established fact that Nigeria lacks adequate manpower in the area of security, both in the Police, whose role it is to ensure internal security, and the Armed Forces, whose role it is to protect Nigeria from external aggression. Yet, Wase prioritises himself and VIPs over the seemingly hapless and helpless people of Nigeria, even though President Tinubu has declared a state of emergency on security, which confirms the urgent need to adopt extraordinary measures to secure Nigerians and ensure public order.

The Minister of Defence’s Perplexing and Defeatist Statement 

Recently, the Minister of Defence was said to have made a statement that Terrorists are located in forests that bombs cannot penetrate. I found this statement, rather perplexing and defeatist. Does this mean that the authorities should do nothing about these undesirable elements who have taken over our forests, and turned them into havens of criminality? When people make statements that tend to sound like protecting  terrorists, as if violent criminals are just shoplifters who stole a bottle of perfume from the store, and not the cold blooded killers that they are, I wonder about those people making the statements. Many of the heinous crimes of these terrorists, carry the death penalty.

Indeed, a forest like Sambisa is dense and the terrain may be difficult, but, there are different kinds of bombs that are effective in different types of terrain. Since it has been established that the locations of some of these terrorists are known, the use of Precision Guided Missiles and Bombs that have GPS and Laser guidance, and can hit stationary and moving targets, can be directed to specific targets within dense forests, causing minimal collateral damage. There are also Fuel Air Explosives, Incendiary Bombs, and Bunker-Buster Bombs, amongst other devices.

There are different options for bombing a dense forest, so, when the Minister of Defence openly makes such a pessimistic, somewhat inaccurate statement about key measures that must be taken to fight insecurity in an area that has been identified as possibly the most dangerous terrorist haven in the country, it makes one wonder about Government’s will to fight these terrorists. After all, it is hard to understand the rationale of how so-called “Negotiators” were freely visiting terrorist dens in the forest, yet, Government continued to fail to take any decisive action against the terrorists, knowing their locations. While some may argue that it may be some kind of strategic decision, maybe to save the lives of hostages (a position which President Buhari was reported to have taken), or to be able to gather more intelligence with the goal of wiping out the terrorists in their entirety, others see such inaction as a gross lack of will to do the needful. 

Extraordinary Measures

So, what measures should Government adopt in a state of emergency on security? 

1) Homeland Security: Ministry of Interior or a Remodelled SSS?

Last week, I mentioned that Nigeria requires a Ministry of Homeland Security (MHS) to fully concentrate on coordinating internal security. Some people commented that a MHS would further bloat an already over-bloated government, and it could be a duplication of efforts, since there’s already a Ministry of Interior and an SSS. But, whether a stand-alone MHS, or one that is part of Ministry of Interior, or a remodelled SSS as MHS, security measures require more attention in implementation, to make them effective. 

For example, there is the Abia State Homeland Security Agency Law 2025 (ASHSAL) establishing an Abia Homeland Security Agency, whose objectives for the State mirror that of the Police and Civil Defence for Nigeria – protection of lives and property and public infrastructure – see Section 4(1) of the ASHSAL, and whose  functions for Abia are similar to that of the SSS for Nigeria – see Section 5 of the ASHSAL. The Front Cover of the Vanguard Newspaper of Sunday, November 30, stated that there are terrorist strongholds in 9 States in the North. Nothing stops these State Governments, from adopting the Abia model in their States, instead of relying principally on Federal security structures.

Nigerian laws are certainly not lacking in their provision for the structure of security in the country; it is the implementation/enforcement that is lacking. While Sections 214 & 4 of the Constitution and the Nigeria Police Act 2020 (NPA) respectively, provide for the establishment of the Nigeria Police and its duties, the National Security Agencies Act 1986 (NSA Act) which establishes the DIA, NIA and SSS (see Section 1 (a)-(c) thereof), in Section 2(3)(a)-(c), charges the SSS inter alia, with the prevention and detection of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria. Could the SSS which is already an institution established by law, be remodelled to be an effective MHS? Instead of wasting time and resources doing Police, EFCC and ICPC work, cases that have nothing to do with internal security – arresting judicial officers in the dead of night and chasing the former CBN Governor –  the SSS should be made to concentrate on its core mandate and issues relating thereto, to make Nigeria a more secure place. For instance, if there isn’t any presently, the SSS as MHS could add on counter-terrorism units for strike (lethal) action in each geographical zone. 

The relationship between the SSS and the Police should be an extremely close one, since their duties are closely related – see Section 4(a) of the NPA. The SSS whose work involves the gathering of secret intelligence to prevent and detect crimes against the internal security of Nigeria, would pass on intelligence and work with the Police – whose duty is to prevent and detect crimes within the country, and Civil Defence – whose mandate includes the protection of critical infrastructure, maintenance of internal security in areas beyond the scope of the Police and Armed Forces, and engagement in Community Policing – see Section 3 of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Act 2003. These three institutions should work together, so that their efforts are coordinated into one cohesive strategy by the MHS. 

2) Reabsorption of Retired Personnel

As a matter of urgency, the Inspector General of Police (IG), as an extraordinary measure and a faster way to increase personnel, can re-engage retired Police Officers, the ones who are fit and known to have been loyal and excellent in their service. Section 9(6)(a) & (b) of the NPA allows the IG to re-engage retired Police Officers for a period of up to 4 years. This would allow such Officers to be reabsorbed into the Police immediately, without any need for going through a longer period of Police College or training in the case of new recruits, but probably only at most, a brief refresher course, depending on how long ago they retired, so that they can start work immediately. The Armed Forces can also do same, all of them doing due diligence to ensure that moles and criminals are not reabsorbed into these institutions. See Section 25 of the Armed Forces Act 2004. 

3) Counterterrorism Strategy

Government has to improve its counter-terrorism strategy. It is time to maybe revamp the Nigeria Security Strategy and the Revised National Counterterrorism Strategy developed during the Jonathan and Buhari administrations respectively. 

Conclusion 

It is obvious that there is a need for urgent action on the part of the Federal and State Governments, and security agencies to curb the escalating violence against Nigerians. Last week, I saw two horrific videos of the beheading of two men, in two separate incidents. They were killed like rams. There can be no justification whatsoever, for the killing of innocent Nigerians, because your State Governments have failed you! Yes, State Governments, because a perusal of the Constitution clearly shows that the issues that affect the everyday lives of Nigerians, such as the provision of primary, adult and vocational education and health services, are largely in the hands of the State and Local Governments – see Sections 4 & 7 of the Constitution, the Concurrent Legislative List and Fourth Schedule to Section 7 of the Constitution on the Functions of a Local Government Council. 

Having people, both in and out of Government, whose mindset and public utterances almost seem as if they have tacit support or sympathy for terrorists and criminals, particularly those in Government, is not just shocking, it is an open declaration to the world that Nigerians require external assistance to solve their insecurity problem, as those who are tasked with the duty of alleviating the problem appear to lack the necessary will to do so, and prefer to offer defeatist and patronising excuses instead.