By Chukwudi Nweje, Lagos
Pan Yoruba socio-cultural and political organisation Afenifere, Tuesday, reiterated its position that the only way to curb the wave of insecurity around the country is through state police forces, restructuring and greater commitment of the security agencies.
It said, “Mechanisms must be put in place for restructuring of the country, in line with what we used to have before the military truncated the regional arrangement in 1966, such that constituents would be better positioned to take their fate into their own hands.
“A corollary to the foregoing is the need by federal and state governments to employ more hands into the security sector, provide necessary tools including the deployment of modern devices to aid security agencies, as well as boost the morale of security.”
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, Afenifere renewed its call on President Bola Tinubu to issue a Presidential Order empowering states and local government areas willing to set up local police services to do so, provided such local outfit have necessary wherewithal to operate as a Police formation.
The organisation also urged Tinubu to meet with stakeholders in respective areas across the country with a view to coming up with mutually agreed solutions to identifying and proffer ring solution criminal acts peculiar to particular parts of the country.
It stated that stakeholders, including the government, the security agencies, the citizens and the telecommunications network providers all have their part to play to put an end to, or at least drastically reduce the incidence kidnappings for ransom and terrorism around the country if they are truly committed to doing so.
The statement read, “Section 14(2) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 is unambiguous in declaring that ‘security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government’, meaning that all other things that a government does are to compliment and complement these two primary purposes. Unfortunately, given the how things have been in Nigeria in recent years, governments have failed phenomenally in their responsibilities as prescribed by the Constitution.
“To remedy this, it is incumbent on the government to buckle up. Parts of the way of doing this is to be more decisive in dealing with those apprehended as having hands in banditry.
“A few years ago, when Nigerians were stampeded to register for the National Identification Number (NIN), Bank Verification Number (BVN), as well as registering their telephone numbers and matching some of these numbers, the argument put up was that doing so would make it easier for criminals to be nabbed by security agencies. Years down the line, years after the registrations have taken place and years after virtually every person using or owning telephone number(s) are in the database accessible to the government, criminality and terrorism are not only still with us, they are also festering with unprecedented ferocity.
“The failure to use tracking method to nab criminals, especially those using telephone sets to communicate, is a serious indictment on those who were supposed to include such in their intelligence gathering and criminal fighting strategies.
“It is on record that police do use ‘tracking’ to trace culprits when a high-ranking personality is the victim whose high-valued phone and other items were stolen. Why the same police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the military have not effectively utilised this important technology in fighting criminality is confounding. There is no record so far that any telecommunication company that owns the telephone line used by suspected criminals failed to co-operate with security operatives in this respect.”
“Some victims of kidnapping have narrated that there is usually an insider or insiders in how they were kidnapped. In other words, there are collaborators. This is why Afenifere is reiterating that leaders in given areas need to consult among themselves and be blunt with one another – as well as with their youths. As is often said, without local collaborators, it would be difficult for marauders from outside to successfully carry out their obnoxious mission and go scot-free. Some victims of killings and arsons in Plateau State last Christmas eve stated that they severally sent distress calls to the security agencies, especially the military, when their areas were taken over by terrorists without any help coming. That the terrorists were able to operate for so long a time and in areas covering three local government geographically is an indictment. A similar attitude was said to have occurred in the kidnap incidents that took place in Abuja last week and previously in the neighbouring states. It is something that ought to attract sanction to prevent a re-occurrence,” the statement read.