Insecurity: Stakeholders seek collaborative effort to curb menace

Insecurity: Stakeholders seek collaborative effort to curb menace

Stakeholders in the security sector have called for collective responsibility among government, security agencies and communities to curb the increasing level of insecurity in some parts of the country.

Some of the stakeholders who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja said the government and the security agencies had greater responsibility in addressing the security challenges.

Mr Santos Larab, a security analyst said the responsibility was more on government and security agencies because civilians were not empowered by law to carry guns but could support with relevant information.

Larab said the level of insecurity was seen to be on the increase because no individual, community, group or agency had been held responsible for the security lapse in the country.

He called for a strengthened collaboration between security agencies and the various local vigilante groups whose members reside in the same community with the perpetrators of crimes.

“The idea is that, since members of the vigilante groups live in the same community with the people perpetrating the crime, a strong collaboration will enhance intelligence gathering.

“Secondly, since members of the vigilante groups are members of the communities, they will be ready to assist the police and other security agencies to protect their communities.

“We must begin to hold people responsible for the security lapse to be able to get out of the current security challenges facing the country.

“Vigilante groups in communities, community leaders, security agencies at local and state government levels must be made to account for insecurity that takes place in their areas,” he said.

Mr Samuel Ayuba, another security analyst said failure of relevant agencies to enforce disarmament and rehabilitation laws had contributed to the increasing level of insecurity in the country.

“Not much has been done for a long time about mopping up arms that got into the hands of people during political campaigns and other illegal means.

“Relevant agencies must embark on an intensive programme to mop up the large number of arms in the hands of criminals that has been fueling insecurity in the country,” he said.

Ayuba faulted the current security architecture of the country where security agencies react to security lapse rather than using intelligence to prevent the occurrence.

The security analyst advocated for an overhaul of the security arrangement in the country to bring together the formal and the informal sector of the security of the country.

According to him, we must involve the non-formal security apparatus, the vigilante groups, the regional and neighborhood security, the chiefs and the communities in the security of the country.

“The security agencies must be ready to regulate and provide necessary support to the informal security apparatus to ensure that credible people are recruited into vigilante groups.

“With good collaboration with the communities, it is easier to recruit credible people into vigilante groups that will serve as an intelligence tool for the security agencies.

“The idea is to ensure that no visitor can come into the communities to attack without being caught,” he said.

He said the collaboration could also help the security agencies to uncover any form of conspiracy resulting from attacks on communities in the country.

Mallam Ahmad Sajoh, a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Adamawa, noted the commendable and substantial efforts being made by the government to address the situation, but said a lot still needs to be done.

Sajoh said the government needs to address the situation using technology.

Read Also: Easter: Suspected herders kills 17 in 2 LGAs in Benue-Police

“I am one of the people that are always concerned about the failure of the Nigerian security system to deploy technology in their war against non-state actors who are threatening the peace of the country.

“Why will kidnappers demand for motorcycles as ransom and such vehicles are not fixed with trackers?

“Using very simple devices one could see the streets of any city in Nigeria.

“Using Google maps one could locate any street or location in Nigeria. We need to strengthen our use of technology in fighting insecurity in Nigeria,” Sajoh said.

Mr Gad Peter, the Executive Director of Cleen Foundation said the increasing level of insecurity in some parts of the country had become a source of worry.

He said relevant security agencies had not done enough to address the situation, adding that the current level of insecurity in the country was enough to declare a state of emergency in the sector.

Peter called on the Federal Government and other relevant agencies to step up the fight against insecurity to enable farmers to return back to farm.

VMT NEWS reports that President Ahmed Tinubu has given a marching order of December for reducing all major security challenges across the country to the minimum.