From Kenneth Udeh, Abuja
Senate on Thursday charged the Nigerian Military, paramilitary ,Police, Nigeria Security, Civil Defence Corps ,NSCDC and other security agencies in the country to eschew battles of supremacy amongst themselves but rather synergise for the effective and holistic tackling of the various forms of insecurity plaguing the nation.
The Senate in its resolve during plenary urged the agencies manning the Nation’s security to develop a National Security Policy document outlining the framework for an improved and streamlined synergy and coordination between them.
Deliberating on a motion introduced by Senator Yar adua Abdulaziz (Katsina Central) the Lawmakers decried the state of insecurity in the country which they described as a recurring decimal.
Yar adua in his lead debate bemoaned that the security Landscape in Nigeria poses unprecedented challenges that overwhelm the protective capabilities of any security agency alone Therefore, the fight against insurgencies and other novel security crises requires the collaboration of all the relevant security agencies and MDAs.
He called for the cooperation of security agencies; “Nigeria has various security agencies aside from the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the Nigeria Police Force. These include the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and other authorized Civilian Task Forces. Additionally, Nigeria has other key security services that oversee both internal and external threats. the Department of State Service (DSS), the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Addressing the Senate further the Senator outlined the various forms of insecurity challenges in the country. According to him Nigeria faces numerous simultaneous security crises. He mentioned Boko Haram in the North-East; the activities of bandits and kidnappers in the North-west; the activities of gunmen in the South-east and South-south; and other forms of criminality like armed robbery, herders/farmers clashes and cross-border crimes.
While stressing the need for the security agencies to synergise rather than fight each other Yar Adua narrated various incidents of insecurity in Nigeria, he said; “the kidnapping of Major General RC Dura (retired) in Owerri, Imo State on 27 September 2023 by members of IPOB, and the overall nefarious acts of the proscribed outfits, and the much-touted ‘unknown gunmen’ in the Eastern part of the country;
“Reports that on the 3rd of October 2023, at least five people were killed, and some others injured when bandits attacked the Anguwar Dankali community in the Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State;
“Also Informed about the fact that troops of Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH) on Operation HAKORIN DAMISA IV from 9 to 16 October 2023 neutralized bandit/armed robbers and arrested 59 suspects in connection with kidnapping, armed robbery, cattle rustling, railway vandalism, gunrunning, illegal mining as well as recovered arms/ammunitions and illicit drugs;
“Gathered from the Punch Newspaper on the 18* of October 2023 that no fewer than 50 people including a district head, women, and children, have been abducted while three others were reportedly killed in an attack by bandits in Bagega, a mining village in Zamfara State;
“Worried that just recently on the 20% of October 2023, bandits In their numbers raided Denmuse town, the headquarters of Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing 7 people, and injuring 10 people and kidnapped a yet to be ascertained number of people. Furthermore, the bandits also attacked the people of Wurma, Tamawa and Dadawa villages in Kurfi LG killing people and rustling cattle; and
Concluding, the Lawmaker stated that the primary focus of security agencies should be directed at making Nigeria safe, the insecurity in Nigeria can only be tackled if all security agencies and Parastatals that play key roles in National security work in synergy under a centralized command structure to ensure that the country is highly secured.
Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) urged the Senate to support the motion, he gave further unfortunate incidents of crimes committed in the country. Ningi gave an account of a recent incident in which the Emir of Kubwa was kidnapped and killed days after the criminals had collected the ransom payment. The Senator said that nowhere was safe in the country, however he excluded the Presidential Villa describing it as the only safest place in the country where one can sleep with their two eyes closed.
“If you move around Abuja you can’t find Policemen manning their checkpoints. The security Chiefs inherited the problems of their predecessors, he lamented.
Consequently,the Senate resolved to invite the Army General, National Security Adviser (NSA), Inspector General of Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and other heads of security agencies to a meeting in the shortest possible time. The Senators also urged the various security agencies to embark on joint training to enhance their capabilities and effectiveness in dealing with all forms of security challenges bedeviling the nation.