A security expert, Mr Dipo Okeyomi, has blamed the non-involvement of the private security sector in tackling the various security challenges confronting the country for the recurrence of the abduction of pupils by Boko Haram insurgents in schools in the North East.
Okeyomi, who is also the chief executive officer of Green Global Security Limited, argued that the shutting out of the private security sector from contributing its quota towards addressing the security challenges Nigeria had been grappling with had continued to heighten the situation.
The security expert spoke against the backdrop of the recent abduction of over 50 school girls abducted at the Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State by members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect.
He argued that the Federal Government should allow private security organisations and personnel to collaborate with Federal security agencies to secure the nation’s education sector to effectively check a recurrence of the abduction of innocent pupils by the militant sect.
Okeyomi said, “We have said it times without number that the Federal Government should involve the private sector in protecting schools. All that is required is that they will take the private security personnel to schools to study the terrain of schools and its environs.
“The truth is that there are more private trained security personnel, who are trained abroad and are more vibrant than the military and other security agencies of the government. But the problem the Federal Government is having is that they don’t allow private security personnel to participate in securing our schools.
“If you are a police officer, you are expected to carry everybody along, same with a military personnel. Their activities should not be limited to their camps alone, but they should liaise with other security people so as to get surveillance intelligence from them as regards happenings around them. They should allow information sharing to be participatory-oriented and not just use people as informants alone.”
Another security expert, Mr. Kabir Adamu, expressed regret that nothing had been done since the abduction of the Chibok school girls by the same sect four years ago to secure the vunerable schools in the North East.
