Insecurity: ''Nigeria Needs To Check Inflow of Aliens Into the Country'' ---- CISLAC

----- 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.