Headlines
Nigeria’s Military Not Doing Enough to End Insecurity Despite Logistics Provided, Buhari Says
By Derrick Bangura
In a clear indictment, a disappointed President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, told the security agencies that they were not doing enough to end the security challenges in the country, despite enormous logistics provided by his administration.
Buhari frowned on the fact that his previous directives to the military to end insecurity in the country had not yielded much results.
He directed all the operational and intelligence agencies to rescue unhurt, all persons kidnapped by terrorists, including those in the recent Kaduna-bound train.
That was as the the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, explained the basis for heavy security presence in the South-east, saying the police would no longer tolerate attacks on their men.
National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), expressed the president’s reservation while speaking with newsmen on Thursday after a three-and-a-half hour meeting of the National Security Council at the State House, Abuja, presided by Buhari.
Monguno said there was no way the president would be happy, when people were being killed on a daily basis. He said the last straw was the recent attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train, which led to the death of some passengers, with scores kidnapped.
The NSA added that the president was of the belief that enough was not being done by the security agencies, despite the logistics being provided.
Monguno stated, “We’ve just concluded a sitting of the National Security Council, a three-and-a-half hour meeting, which was presided over by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. This meeting is the first for 2022 and the meeting deliberated on several issues, at the strategic and operational levels, as well as other issues that are broader.
“In his opening remarks, he (Buhari) spoke about his sadness in respect of the recent developments in the country, the recent security challenges we’ve had, in particular, the incident in which several Nigerians lost their lives and many more have been taken into captivity by criminals and bandits.
“If ten times something happens, ten times (we) will be unhappy and as the leader of this country, the father of the nation, he has to express his displeasure. You know, he is just at the managerial level, he gives us instructions.
“And his displeasure is probably, because he feels enough is not being done. So, we can’t put this thing on his shoulders completely. He’s at the strategic level, he takes the decisions. But when these things become endless, he has to express concern. And that’s just what he did.
“Mr. President has directed all the operational and intelligence elements to rescue these innocent people immediately and unhurt. This is the basis, which other issues were discussed. Obviously, the Chief of Defense Staff, and the service chiefs, as well as the Inspector-General of Police, all briefed the President on the occurrences in their respective organisations.”
The NSA stressed that the president alone could not be blamed for the insecurity in the country, saying his part is to make strategic decisions, which the NSA said he has been doing even though he said that the military has secured the nation’s maritime domain.
Monguno said, “I submitted a memo to council and my recommendations are being looked into by the president. My recommendations are wide ranging and they touch on all aspects of security, starting with the level of security of our land borders, as well as within the country itself.
“In terms of securing the nation, we’ve recorded a lot of successes in the maritime domain and obviously, the problem now has shifted to our borders from outside. As a result of that, there’s a need for us to configure how we’re going to make our borders more secure because of the threats coming from outside the borders.”
Monguno said the surrendering of Boko Haram elements, especially in the North-east, had not engendered the desired result in stemming insurgency in the country, as the threat had shifted to the Northwest and North Central.
According to him, “Now, the issue in the North-east, there’s been a lot of improvement and that has been attested to by the governor of Borno State during our last National Council of State meeting. But, nevertheless, the fact that the North-east is becoming much more stable, more and more people from the terrorists have started surrendering to government, has not really brought to an end the way we would want the situation in the country, because the threat is now shifted from the North-east, to the North-west and to the North-central, and this threat has to be contained.
“It has to be contained collectively by both the armed forces as well as the constabulary forces: the Nigeria Police, Civil Defense, but the intelligence agencies also have been directed to enhance the acquisition of intelligence.”
The NSA stressed the imperative of intelligence from ordinary citizens as he noted that unless the wider society was willing to provide the necessary intelligence, the problem of insecurity would linger beyond the time frame intended to end menace.
He said, “The present situation in the country calls for collective effort by all, not just those that have been charged with the responsibility of physically securing the country, the most important thing for now is acquisition of intelligence and the type of intelligence that is needed is human intelligence and I need to make it very clear.
“I have to be very honest; unless the wider society, right down to the local governments, are willing to give the type of information that is needed to block the activities of these criminals, this situation will continue to linger beyond whatever timeframe we’re looking at, towards ending this great problem.
“A lot of lives are being lost, the president is not happy about this situation, he’s made it very clear. The first assignment he’s given to the security agencies, especially, the armed forces and the police is to rescue those that are in captivity, not just those that were captured during the last train incident, but those that have been in captivity in other parts of the country. That is the first thing that has to be done.
“On the other hand, my memo dwells on the prevailing situation within the security outfits; their needs, their challenges and the President has decided to look into these things and might as well call for another meeting in the near future.”
On why the country had not deplored technology to tackle the menace of terrorism and banditry, Monguno said effort was being made to deploy technology to tackle insecurity but submitted that the required technology was expensive and would take time to acquire.
According to him, “The first question has to do with, why is it so difficult to deploy technology. One, technology is expensive. Technology takes time to acquire these things, since inherently we do not produce these very, very delicate equipment.
“It’s not as if the government is not making any effort to acquire but we need to know who to acquire this technology from, where, when and there are certain processes. For now, I know we have, but the plight is that they are inadequate, so, to the government, it’s a continuous process. That’s what I can say about the issue of deploying technology.”
On alleged sabotage within the military in the fight against terrorism, Monguno said the possibility of having rogue elements could not be ruled out.
Asked whether he would draw a correlation between the threats from the border and the level of insecurity in the country and whether there was any suggestion that foreigners might have been responsible for the insecurity in the country, he said, “Obviously, we have very extensive borders, and I’m not going to deceive anyone.
“All of us know that we have problems of infiltration by virtue of the fact that we have a very large economy. It attracts a lot of people from outside and they come in illegally, not just through the land borders, but also through the maritime waters.
“Of course, in the case of the maritime borders, most of things have been done in the last one year, to secure the maritime domain up to the point that the International Maritime Bureau has acknowledged the fact that in 27 years, our maritime borders have not been as secure and peaceful as they were in the last one year.
“That is a fact; it’s not a conjecture. I didn’t cook up this thing. So, we want to see how we can replicate that type of efforts to put in the maritime domain on our land borders. That is something that counsel is looking into.”
The IGP addressed the question of massive police presence in South-east. Baba said, “I think the question is about deployment. Deployment is being determined by a lot of issues or yardsticks.
“Just like two states may have different number of local governments, so also there can be different number of formations in that state or in that formation. We have formations, we have commands, we have zonal commands and so forth. So, deployment should not be based on either size or number of persons or threat assessment tool in that place.
“It is all about how you police a particular place based on the number of people you have, based also on your ability to gather that manpower. If your command, for instance, Kaduna command has, let’s say 3000 personnel. For now, I know already that 3,000 personnel cannot take care of Kaduna.
“What we normally do is to deploy from other states to come and complement the efforts of Kaduna by what we are calling, let’s say, special duty. We can take from states, where we feel the threat is not as eminent or as bad as what they have in Kaduna, so that you can complement Kaduna. So, also you can complement Imo, Anambra. It’s based on your threat analysis.”
To that extent, Baba, has warned that the police high command would no longer tolerate incessant killing of police officers in the country especially, the South-east.
He condemned the recent spate of attacks on police officers, facilities and other police operational assets across the country.
A statement by Force Headquarters, consequently, ordered the immediate deployment of additional operational assets to complement officers and men attached to Operation Restore Peace in the South-east and other operations launched with the aim of flushing out criminal elements, who hide under the guise of aggrieved citizens to perpetrate criminal acts.
“The IG warned that attacks on police officers in the line of duty would no longer be tolerated under whatever guise as the force holds the lives of its personnel sacrosanct and such unwarranted attacks would be strictly treated in accordance with extant laws,” the statement said.
The statement also said the IG reiterated the commitment of the force to protection of lives and property, while stressing that it was vital to respect the lives and fundamental rights of police officers and other security operatives, in order to enable them advance their sacred mandate of serving and protecting the citizens better
Africa
Customs hands over illicit drugs worth N117.59m to NDLEA
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun Area 1 Command, has handed over illicit drugs worth N117.59 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The Comptroller of the command, Mr James Ojo, disclosed this during the handing over of the drugs to Mr Olusegun Adeyeye, the Commander of NDLEA, Idiroko Special Area Command, in Abeokuta, Ogun, on Friday.
Ojo said the customs handed over the seized cannabis and tramadol tablets to the Idiroko Special Command for further investigation in line with the standard operating procedures and inter-agency collaboration.
He said the illicit drugs were seized in various strategic locations between January and November 21, 2024, in Ogun State.
He added that the illicit drugs were abandoned at various locations, including the Abeokuta axis, the Agbawo/Igankoto area of Yewa North Local Government Area, and Imeko Afton axis.
Ojo said that the seizure of the cannabis sativa and tramaling tablets, another brand of tramadol, was made possible through credible intelligence and strategic operations of the customs personnel.
“The successful interception of these dangerous substances would not have been possible without the robust collaboration and support from our intelligence units, local informants and sister agencies.
“These landmark operations are testament to the unwavering dedication of the NCS to safeguard the health and well-being of our citizens and uphold the rule of law,” he said.
He said the seizures comprised 403 sacks and 6,504 parcels, weighing 7,217.7 kg and 362 packs of tramaling tablets of 225mg each, with a total Duty Paid Value of N117,587,405,00.
He described the height of illicit drugs smuggling in the recent time as worrisome.
This, he said, underscores the severity of drug trafficking within the borders.
“Between Oct. 13 and Nov. 12 alone, operatives intercepted a total of 1,373 parcels of cannabis sativa, weighing 1,337kg and 362 packs of tramaling tablets of 225mg each,” he said.
Ojo said the seizures had disrupted the supply chain of illicit drugs, thereby mitigating the risks those substances posed to the youth, families and communities.
He lauded the synergy between its command, security agencies and other stakeholders that led to the remarkable achievements.
Ojo also commended the Comptroller General of NCS for creating an enabling environment for the command to achieve the success.
Responding, Adeyeye, applauded the customs for achieving the feat.
Adeyeye pledged to continue to collaborate with the customs to fight against illicit trade and drug trafficking in the state.
Economy
Customs intercepts N30m worth of PMS in Operation Whirlwind
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) on Friday said that it had intercepted 849 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), worth over N30 million in retail price from Operation Whirlwind.
The Comptroller of Customs, Hussein Ejibunu, made this known during a news conference in Ikeja.
“Today, we have another seizure of 849 kegs of PMS containing 25 litres each. This translates to 30,225 litres with duty paid value at N30.225 million only at the NNPCL retail price.
“Today marks yet another success recorded by the operatives of Operation Whirlwind, Zone “A” Lagos/Ogun Axis.
“About five weeks ago, same PMS products were displayed before you here on the parade ground of the college where several seizures were made,” Ejibunu said.
“On this note, we wish to thank the National Security Adviser and the Comptroller-General of Customs for their unwavering support,” Ejibunu said.
The coordinator of the Operation Whirlwind said that two vehicles of means of conveyance were intercepted along with the seizures.
Ejibunu said that they evacuated 80 Jerry Cans each from a vehicle.
He assured the public that Operation Whirlwind remains steadfast in its efforts to clamp down on PMS smugglers, ensuring no room for their illegal activities nationwide.
Africa
Ann-Kio Briggs Faults Tinubu for Scrapping Niger Delta Ministry
Prominent Niger Delta human rights activist and environmentalist, Ann-Kio Briggs, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to scrap the Ministry of Niger Delta, describing it as ill-advised and detrimental to the oil-rich region.
Briggs expressed her concerns during an appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television.
“The Ministry of Niger Delta was created by the late (President Umaru) Yar’Adua. There was a reason for the creation. So, just removing it because the president was advised. I want to believe that he was advised because if he did it by himself, that would be terribly wrong,” she stated.
President Tinubu, in October, dissolved the Ministry of Niger Delta and replaced it with the Ministry of Regional Development, which is tasked with overseeing all regional development commissions, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North-West Development Commission, and North-East Development Commission.
Briggs questioned the rationale behind the restructuring, expressing concerns about its feasibility and implications. “But that’s not going to be the solution because who is going to fund the commissions? Is it the regions because it is called the Regional Development Ministry? Is it the states in the regions? What are the regions because we don’t work with regions right now; we are working with geopolitical zones,” she remarked.
She added, “Are we going back to regionalism? If we are, we have to discuss it. The president can’t decide on his own to restructure Nigeria. If we are restructuring Nigeria, the president alone can’t restructure Nigeria, he has to take my opinion and your opinion into consideration.”
Briggs also decried the longstanding neglect of the Niger Delta despite its significant contributions to Nigeria’s economy since 1958. “The Niger Delta has been developing Nigeria since 1958. We want to use our resources to develop our region; let regions use their resources to develop themselves,” she asserted.
Reflecting on the various bodies established to address the region’s development, Briggs lamented their failure to deliver meaningful progress. She highlighted the Niger Delta Basin Authority, the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), and the NDDC as examples of ineffective interventions.
“NDDC was created by Olusegun Obasanjo…There was OMPADEC before NDDC. OMPADEC was an agency. Before OMPADEC, there was the Basin Authority…These authorities were created to help us. Were we helped by those authorities? No, we were not,” she said.
Briggs further described the NDDC as an “ATM for failed politicians, disgruntled politicians, and politicians that have had their electoral wins taken away from them and given to somebody else.”
Her remarks underscore the deep-seated frustrations in the Niger Delta, where residents continue to advocate for greater control over their resources and improved governance.
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