Security agencies have lost their bite – Experts
More states inaugurate defence outfits
Government fears proliferation of light arms
BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, TIMOTHY AGBOR AND BRIGHT JACOB
Investigations by The Point have revealed that the worsening insecurity in the country is driving many more into contemplating self defence. Four years and four months ago, a former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd), had openly called on Nigerians to defend themselves. Many more voices are now chorusing the same tune.
Danjuma had in March 2018, at the Convocation ceremony of Taraba State University, charged Nigerians, in a cold, firm voice to rise up and defend themselves as their safety cannot be guaranteed by any other person.
“Every one of us must rise up. The armed forces are not neutral. They collude, they collude with the armed bandits that kill people, kill Nigerians. They facilitate their movement, they cover them (up),” he had alleged.
Not done, he warned, “If you are depending on the armed forces to stop the killings, you will all die one by one. The ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba State (it) must stop in all the states of Nigeria. Otherwise, Somalia will be a child’s play.
“I ask every one of you to be alert and defend your country, defend your territory, and defend your state. You have nowhere else to go. You have nowhere else to go.”
It was a blood-curdling cry of a heartbroken retired General and a former Minister of Defence over a distressing situation.
Apparently perplexed and embarrassed, then Defence Minister, Mansur Dan-Ali, described it as a “call to anarchy” which should be disregarded by well-meaning Nigerians.
But it would seem like some Nigerians are not in the mood to disregard the call to self defence just as many others expressed disapproval about it. The spate of insecurity in the country has no doubt reached an intolerable limit that more voices are now being heard canvassing self defence.
Security breaches are ripe across all the six geopolitical zones including the Federal Capital Territory as symbols of authority are being desecrated and civilians and security operatives killed.
No single day goes by without reports of bandits and terrorist attacks. A security expert, Akin Adeyin, said Nigerians may not have any other choice than to begin to defend themselves. Specifically, the former Director of the Department of State Service said it was no longer advisable for ordinary citizens who may not have money to get security details to be without arms they could afford.
“It is no longer news that insecurity has reached the peak and we don’t need a seer to tell us that the government is helpless and overwhelmed. To be realistic with you, I don’t blame those calling for self defence and even the governors asking citizens to carry arms and defend themselves. It’s not every Nigerian that could have money to hire security details that would guide them.
“So, I feel that there is no harm in protecting myself. The best security, they say, is self-security. Even if it’s a cutlass you can afford, you should be able to have it in your house in case you may need anything to defend yourself with when attacks come,” he advised.
A clergyman with the Christian Life Ministry, Reginald Anene, told The Point that there was “nothing wrong in a people or community banding together to seek how to protect themselves.”
According to him, the government has failed in its cardinal role of protecting and securing lives and properties, and thus created a loophole for people to look for avenues to protect themselves.
Anene said the fact that the rich could afford to protect themselves made it expedient for the poor to be given the liberty to do the same. He also added that the vacuum created by the absence of adequate security in the country encouraged vigilante groups and neighborhood watches to spring up.
Anene said “First of all, we have to ask ourselves what the fundamental responsibility of government is. One of the cardinal reasons for the government is to protect lives and property, and if the government is not meeting up to that, it, therefore, means that they are creating loopholes for people to look for how to protect their lives and property.
“We must not forget the fact that the wealthy already have that (security) for themselves, and I see no reason why the poor shouldn’t be able to do that.
“Again, we know that there is no vacuum anywhere. The government is not providing security, that’s why you have all these vigilante groups and neighborhood watches happening.
“So, there’s nothing wrong in a people or community banding together to seek for how to protect themselves,” he said.
Anene who is also an author said it was natural for the government to nurse some fears over the proliferation of light arms and people using such arms meant for self-defence for ‘other means other than protecting themselves.’
He, however, said the government and its citizens have to come together to take care of such salient issues, and that has led to calls for State Police.
Asked whether it was ideal for citizens to bear arms, Anene said, “That’s a dicey one. But for a society like the USA where they have gun control laws and laws that allow you to be able to purchase arms or light arms maybe from the age of 18, where they have background checks, one that is well-policed and regulated, there’s really nothing wrong with that.”
Anene, on the flipside, submitted that a society like Nigeria where the necessary legislation and database where such modalities were non-existent would only exacerbate the already grievous security situation.
“The challenge, however, is that our country at the moment…we do not have regulations, we do not have databases, we do not have a lot of things in place.
“So, if you are going to grant people the right to purchase and bear arms, you are going to end up creating more problems than what we already have right now.
“What we have right now….the state of insecurity…is not the best. It’s really a problem and headache for everybody, and to now allow citizens to go get armed, you’d be creating more chaos,” he told our correspondent.
“There is every good reason for people to defend themselves since the handwriting on the wall shows that Nigeria’s conventional security agencies have indeed lost their bite. Several attacks recorded exposed the fact that either the conventional security agencies have totally lost their bite or they have been compromised”
According to Musa Ibrahim, an Abuja-based socio-political analyst, “There is every good reason for people to defend themselves since the handwriting on the wall shows that Nigeria’s conventional security agencies have indeed lost their bite. Several attacks recorded exposed the fact that either the conventional security agencies have totally lost their bite or they have been compromised.
“Imagine the attack on the President’s advance team, the attacks on the Kuje Custodian Centre, Nigeria Army’s Brigade of Guards in the nation’s capital. Schools in the FCT were forced to close before the closing date all in the expression of fears about where next the terrorists will attack.
“Imagine the killings taking place all over the country yet nobody has been held responsible. It’s like there is no government in power. The country has suddenly turned to no man’s land. It’s very terrible. If private security outfits by states will be the solution, please they should establish them without further delay because we may wake up one day and hear that Nigeria has completely fallen to the terrorists. Remember, this government, I mean President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has continued to tell us that the terrorists are foreigners and that has become a recurring statement. The self defence mechanism, for now, is the solution unless we want these foreigners to kill all of us and take our land which they are claiming belongs to them.”
A top federal civil servant, who wouldn’t want his name in print for security purposes, said all these self-help to curb insecurity and security challenges Nigerians are facing is nothing but a failure on the part of the government.
“Government has comprehensively and woefully failed in protecting the lives and property of the Nigerian citizens which is the primary duty or objective of the government. Therefore, because the Buhari administration has failed, the people have no option but to resort to self-help to provide this essential service for themselves and families,” he lamented.
Much as he believes that the APC government has turned the country upside-down in security particularly, he, however, cautioned that the situation may boomerang.
“The danger of resorting to self-help to solve the security problems is that there will be an absolute lack of control measures on the movement or circulation of arms and ammunition in Nigeria. The resultant effect is that society will turn into free for all with the display of arms and threats to lives and property worse than what we are presently experiencing. However, we can’t blame the security agencies for the total breakdown in security and protection of the people and their property; rather we must blame mostly the President for his inability to properly direct the security agencies to do this critical service for the people, even with enough resources provided for security agencies to run its affairs.
“Look at how travelers going to Kaduna from Abuja were attacked, some killed, some abducted in a train and remained in the terrorist enclave till date and as if that was not enough, the terrorists are launching attacks everywhere that they even said they will abduct the President and Kaduna State governor. What else can they not do? The reason is that this is a government that has failed to monitor the actions and activities of the security agencies to ensure that they are working according to the rules. Imagine a government that allows certain categories of the citizenry to march the streets freely with dangerous arms and forbid others from bearing even the least harmful objects.
“These are exactly the fears that cause the citizens to resort to self-help. In any case, it is a dangerous and disappointing situation that will certainly work against the country’s existence as a united Nigeria. So, the whole authority is with the government to save us and the country from becoming histories like Carthage and some other countries that have sunk into oblivion,” he said.
CALL FOR CAUTION OVER POSSIBLE ABUSE
A lawyer, J. P. Jones said self defence would have been necessary in the wake of worsening insecurity but expressed fear that Nigerians would abuse the opportunity to carry guns and start attacking themselves at the slightest provocation.
Jones expressed optimism that Nigeria would soon get a saviour and if guns had been licensed for Nigerians before that, it would be difficult for the government to mop up the arms from the citizens who may want to be using them for nefarious activities.
According to the legal practitioner, “It’s a very welcome development for us to start defending ourselves so that we would not be handicapped whenever these people come around. But my fear is the aftermath of this whole thing. I pray God will send us a saviour that will be able to take us out of the dungeon this current administration has plunged Nigeria into, so, what becomes the fate of those who have been handling these guns? You will just be seeing a lot of havoc and disaster.
“They have not licensed guns and we are already seeing what is happening around in Nigeria. So, there is always going to be abuse except it is checkmated. Gun is like a means to power and once one has it, there is no way one wouldn’t abuse it. At the slightest of provocation, one may want to dig it out and use it on the opponent. It’s not going to be an easy thing in Nigeria and giving out guns is like adding petrol to fire. So, in fairness to God and man, I don’t subscribe to it.”
For the Executive Director of a Civil Society Organisation, Value Reorientation for Community Enhancement, Ademola Adebisi, allowing Nigerians to carry guns would worsen the security situation already being experienced.
While arguing that Nigerians are mostly lawless, Adebisi said granting them freedom of taking up arms would lead to more damage and security challenges.
“I am against us carrying arms for self defence because from our history, we are lawless people. Since democracy began, we have become so lawless that if we are allowed to carry arms, I can tell you that we will have double what is currently happening because everybody will become so lawless and we may not be able to control ourselves.
So, before we can get to that level, we have to become law-abiding citizens and do the right thing at all times. Without that and with the way Nigeria is structured today, if we are allowed to carry arms, we will become so lawless that what we are witnessing now will be a child’s play to what will come up. So, until we have a credible leader, who will be ready and willing to restructure this country, I don’t think we are ripe for that level. So, I am against us carrying arms for self-defence,” he submitted.
Also speaking, the Chairman of National Youth Council of Nigeria, Osun State chapter, Osun Abdulazeez Ismail, said though self defence is an option, it is not a solution to the insecurity challenge the nation is confronting.
He said without the provision of jobs for teeming Nigerian youths who are jobless, no form of action taken against insecurity would achieve positive results.
“While I will join those who have said self defence is an option, I will, however, want to stress that it’s not the solution to insecurity. Job security will be one of the best solutions to insecurity in our land while we build up to the educational system alongside skill acquisition with the provision of facilities and amenities that will help in exploring opportunities and inbuilt talent.
“The defect of licensed arms will be more just as it hasn’t been licensed, yet those using it illegally are scaling through legal punishments, one wonders what will happen if licensed.
“Licensing arms can be done based on communities’ needs. That is license arms for community policing for those that have a well-organised community development association at least to secure our immediate communities, streets and localities. Insecurity developed as a result of continuous speedy rise in the rate of unemployment while we continue to have millions of graduates and school dropouts,” he noted.
A media practitioner, Ibrahim Sufiyan Isah, did not mince words in arguing against self defence adding that the negative sides of self defence far outweigh that of the positive.
He said, “In as much as the suggestion is kind of welcomed, I will still say it would be very wrong if we resort to self defence. The reason why I said this is because we know the nature of Nigerians generally when everybody is licensed to carry his or her arms, it will be possible for us to be able to defend ourselves against any attack or unforeseen occurrences, but on the other way round, there is a negative side to it which outweighs the positive one. To be candid, if we eventually resort to self defence, it could lead to more mayhem. It would do us more harm than good because so many people will decide to resort to crime and what we want to contain will eventually end up swallowing us. So, I wouldn’t advocate for self defence, rather, I will just urge the security agencies to up their game and ensure that they protect the lives and properties of Nigerians.”
“To be candid, if we eventually resort to self defence, it could lead to more mayhem. It would do us more harm than good because so many people will decide to resort to crime and what we want to contain will eventually end up swallowing us”
EMERGENCE OF STATES’ SECURITY FORCES
Many unconventional security outfits are now everywhere on the Nigerian landscape, yet insecurity is getting worse and governors of states that look helpless have joined the bandwagon by not only calling for self-defence, but also instituting state private security outfits that can defend their people.
Before now it was the Civilian Joint Task Force in the North East, which emerged first as a community effort targeted at addressing the upsurge in insecurity occasioned by religious extremist activities. Later, it morphed into a joint effort with the security forces to help fight Boko Haram. There is also the Western Nigeria Security Network tagged “Operation Amotekun”, which is a security outfit established in all the six states of the South West responsible for curbing insecurity in the region.
The emergence of Amotekun led to moves by the South-South and South East governors and political leaders to create a similar outfit with South East establishing Ebube Agu while Cross River State, for example, birthed the Homeland Security Service known as Operation Akpakwu all in the quest to address their security needs.
And recently, the governors of Zamfara State, Bello Matawale, and his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, joined the Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari in the call for self defence.
Governor Ortom has even gone beyond the call by inaugurating an outfit known as Community Volunteer Guards with the mandate to safeguard the vulnerable communities against the unabated attacks by terrorists.
In inaugurating the CVG, Ortom called on the Inspector General of the Police to permit the state to have access to the purchase of AK-47 guns for the outfit’s operations but the request was turned down.
OSINBAJO SEEKS ACCOUNTABILITY ON SECURITY EXPENDITURE
Only last week, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo underscored the need for transparency in the management of resources meant for the acquisition of hardware for the defence and security agencies.
He spoke late Wednesday during a virtual interaction after receiving a presentation by the National Defence College Course 30 participants.
While the federal government had been budgeting billions of naira on defence and security, experts believed the manner in which the resources are being spent is questionable; hence the call for transparency and in some cases probe.
In his presentation to the participants of the Defence College, the vice president said, “There needs to be more accountability because every time you hear about ‘we not having enough equipment,’ but there must be accountability.
“I would like to see a framework for greater accountability within the Ministry of Defence that ensures that they are able to account for military expenditure,” he said in a statement issued Thursday by his spokesman, Laolu Akande.
He said Nigeria’s current security challenges and emerging threats required the military and other relevant stakeholders to be several steps ahead of perpetrators while also stepping up local production of armaments.
According to him, “If you look at the challenges that we are facing and the nature of those challenges, it is evident that we need to be many steps ahead of non-state actors in particular who are perpetrators of this asymmetric warfare that we are experiencing.”
The specifics on the budget and other allocations to the defence sector are rarely made public amid outcry by troops for more equipment to confront the enemy.
Speaking on the implication of the vice president’s demand, a financial crimes expert, Umar Yakubu, explained that non-transparency in military spending could cause a war economy.
“There is a need for more transparency in military spending because if we don’t, we are going to create a war economy where we will not be able to continue sustaining the corruption and where the war will not finish. That is one of the reasons insecurity has not gone down,” Yakubu said.
He stressed that Nigerians would have more confidence in the military and the work they do if they halt the current secrecy regarding their spending.
“If you look all over the world, one area where there seems to be a lack of transparency and opaqueness is the military sector in relation to their expenditure.
“Most governments hide under the cover of insecurity to tell you that they are not going to disclose how much they are spending on insecurity.
He said for the vice president to call for more transparency, speaks volumes.
“If you look at the trajectory from 2017 to 2021, the military budget has been increasing by a minimum of N500 million every year. If I am correct, it is over N2trn now – just to the military.
“If you crosscheck with what the minister of finance said, their releases are high, it is not just only about their budget. The releases are high, maybe up to 90%.
“Now, if there is so much heavy military expenditure and when you ask them, they will tell you that they lack equipment, so what is the problem? Where does the problem lie?” he asked.
