----- condemns commercialisation of recruitment, posting processes.
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has
once again expressed concern and drawn
the attention of the nation to the mirage of security challenges confronting
the country and why despite huge amount of money being spent on security, the
country is still battling with terrorist
gangs, bandits, kidnappers and other dangerous criminals threatening our
internal security architecture .
CISLAC in
collaboration with Transparency International (TI) – Defence and Security
Programme stated this concern during a one day Focus group discussion on the title ‘’ The Barriers and Bridges To
accountability in the Defence and security sector in Nigeria .
Mr. Salaudeen Hashim, a Programme Manager at CISLAC while speaking on the topic, enumerated
various factors why Nigeria is still grasping with solving her security challenges.
He said ‘’ Nigeria’s
inability to checkmate the inflow of
aliens is threatening her security architecture. Our borders are also
becoming porous. We have a belt of over 2000 square kilometers that are not
properly policed. Where policing is going on, there is a lot of
commercialization by personnel who look away while the aliens move in and out
of the country at will .Yes, the Nigeria Customs have been able to impound
tanks and containers full of ammunition and intercepted arms but over 70percent of the small arms end up in the
hands of the armed fighters . Also, the collapse of Libya has continued to
export personnel and fighters into the country with ammunition and this calls
for the need to tighten border controls, the land border and the sea border.
The Sahel and the gulf of Guinea is one of the biggest threats to security in
this country’’ He added
Mr. Hashim also condemned the comercialisation of the
recruitment process into the various security agencies as well as bribe for
juicy posting as he added that corruption in the recruitment and posting processes does not give room for proper
vetting of recruits and posting of right personnel to beats.
‘’ When these issues are brought before the authority, they
are in self denial of what is happening but this information are out there. Juicy
posting is one of the challenges and there is a lot of racketeering involved in
juicy posting. When you see Security personnel
fighting for posting to the Niger Delta
for example, is not for their want of
service to the nation or because they are patriotic but because they want to go
and join the military, police involvement in oil business in that region. How well do we vet personnel
being recruited into the system when they have paid off their way to get in? It
also let out the function of vetting and when we cannot determine their previous
records and the psycho-social health system and character of those being recruited
into the system, that in itself is a set back from the beginning . It has
faulted in the first place in applying processes and procedures in ensuring we
employ the right persons into the system. That is why in most cases, you see
personnel rag tagged, and even the way they interface with civilians does not
suggest that they have gone through the conventional recruitment processes. We need
to reevaluate the entire recruitment process. Security agencies are not revenue
generating agencies. Their sole function is to ensure the security of lives and
property. There is need to revisit those situation where there is commercialisation
of posting. There was a time in this country when a particular IGP makes a
billion naira annually from the postings of personnel to multi-national companies
and to VIPs. This takes away the conventional protection for the civilians. Let’s
say if we have 300,000 policemen and you have
taken 100,000 for VIPs and multi-nationals for commercial purpose , you have
just a handful , and that in its self is a
setback. Even if government is deliberate, there are some actions and
behaviours that are detrimental to tackling insecurity. There is need for evaluation,
reevaluation of the system and those spaces that are not policed should be policed
as a way of checking growing insecurity’’
The Executive Director of CISLAC,
Auwal Musa, Rafsanjani, in his opening remark
presented by Barr. Adesina Oke, a board member said
although Nigeria’s military forces have
unrelentingly waged war against the insurgents, yet there is no clear end in
sight as annihilated insurgency groups are re-emerging, posing new threats and continuing
old terrors. One of the strategies to adopt according to Mr. Rafsanjani, is
intelligence gathering through partnership with members of the community.
He “In 2022, bandits, now officially
classified as terrorists by the Nigerian government, are still attacking
communities and leaving trails of bodies, blood and ruin behind. Therefore, it
is unsurprising for some community stakeholders to ask for the elimination of
bandits. However, that is not enough.
“Government must push for more community buy-in. Lagos is gradually witnessing
pockets of attacks as predicted by this program some years ago. The connivance
of some residents who serve as informants for bandits undermines security operations.
“Therefore, the Nigerian government should deploy measures to bring communities
closer to the government, especially security agencies.
“In addition, awareness campaigns to gather support for the Nigerian forces
combating bandits would help improve civil-military relations.
“From news reports, vested interests and other sentimental issues appear to be
triggering violence in the region. Military efforts may seem like the best
solution to the issue of banditry, but paying close attention to the socio-economic
and socio-cultural dimensions of the conflict is equally important in building
peace and stability in the area.
“Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), in collaboration with
Transparency International-Defence and Security with the support from Dutch
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has worked collectively to institutionalize an
accountable system that is vibrant, robust and effective.
“One of the expected deliverables for today would be to highlight gaps within
the existing architecture, with clearer information to monitor track and report
gaps within the protection framework, processes, practices and spending.
“Beyond community buy-in, security and human capital development should also be
prioritised in the flashpoints. Although community buy-in will help improve
combative efforts through access to local intelligence, increasing development
assistance for crisis-impacted communities will address the consequences of
armed banditry on the population.
“In addition, the development intervention will help present a good image of
the Nigerian state and equally set the pathway for state-community relations.
Accountability helps build the confidence and legitimacy needed to overcome
societal mistrust.
“The latest report holds that the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP)
is regrouping. ISWAP, a 2016 splinter group from Boko Haram, is allegedly
better funded, more educated and deadlier security concern for the country.
“The group’s strategy can be argued to be more focused on hard targets in its
bid to destroy the Nigerian state’s presence and, in its place, establish an
Islamic caliphate.
“In 2019, the Federal Government of Nigeria alleged that some Nigerians were
helping bandits to evade capture. In 2022, the wave may have shifted. Some
traditional rulers now want them killed.
“The reasons may be simple. Banditry is a top security issue in Nigeria. About
2,334 people died in 935 events recorded in 2021. Communities in the northwest
and northcentral Nigeria have seen the worst of the menace.” he said.
CISLAC Executive Director also emphasised that since the implementation of the
project, CISLAC has worked closely with various Ministries, Department and
Agencies of government as well as CSOs at state and national level.
“Defence agencies and media in delivering on the project outcomes. This has led
to the formation of various policy shifts.
“In conclusion, allow me state clearly that some communities in northern
Nigeria have known bandits’ violence, lived with it and engaged it. Do we want
to also wait for that scenario to begin to play out in other regions?
“Indeed, bandits have grown in audacity, the tempo of attacks and have
transitioned to a top security threat in Nigeria. In some instances, bandits
impose levies on communities, send letters of warning and impending
bloodletting.
“The scenario in many flashpoints affected by bandits is anguish, brutish life,
forced evictions from households, deprivation from livelihood sources and a
seemingly unending humanitarian crisis.
“About 2,334 people died in 935 events recorded in 2021. Should we expect fatal
attacks in 2022 or more coordinated approach? We all are here to answer these
questions.” he said.
