On Thursday, the Senate decided to have a meeting with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Service Chiefs, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to talk about ways to lessen the alarming security situation in the nation.
The motion on the “Urgent need for the Improvement of the coordination and synergy between Nigerian Security Forces and Agencies to help strengthen and win the fight against Insecurity in the nation” was adopted first, followed by the Red Chamber decision.
Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, a senator from Katsina Central, was the one who proposed it.
In his Lead Debate, Senator Yar’Adua argued that the current security environment in Nigeria presents unheard-of issues that exceed the protective capacities of any one security agency, and he urged for cooperation and coordination between the various security agencies.
In order to battle banditry, insurgencies, and other security difficulties, the legislator insisted that collaboration between Ministries Departments and authorities (MDAs) and other pertinent security authorities is necessary.
“Aside from the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria has various security agencies,” he stated. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and other authorised Civilian Task Forces are a few of these.
“In addition, Nigeria has the Department of State Service (DSS), the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) as additional important security agencies that monitor threats from both the inside and the outside.
Nigeria is dealing with multiple security crises at once. These include the actions of shooters in the South-east and South-Southeast, Boko Haram in the North-East, bandits and kidnappers in the North-West, and other criminal activities such armed robbery, conflicts between farmers and herders, and cross-border crimes.
across his list of killings and kidnappings across the nation, Senator Yar’Adua mentioned the incident that occurred on October 23, 2023, in Zaria Local Government Area, Kaduna State, where five individuals were killed by bandits attacking the Anguwar Dankali community.
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Along with the militants and bandits in the north, he also noted the challenges to peace in the southeast region posed by the illegal Independent People of Biafra (IPOB).
“We are aware of the kidnapping of retired Major General RC Duru in Owerri, Imo State on September 27, 2023, by members of IPOB; we also know about the general evil deeds of the banned groups and the much-discussed ‘unknown gunmen’ in the country’s east.
From October 9 to October 16, 2023, troops from Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) and Operation Hakorin Damisa IV neutralised bandit/armed robbers and detained 59 suspects in relation to kidnapping, armed robbery, cattle rustling, railway vandalism, gunrunning, illegal mining, as well as narcotics and weapons that had been found.
In Bagega, a mining community in Zamfara State, at least 50 people—including a district head, women, and children—had reportedly been kidnapped, and three more have reportedly been killed in a bandit attack, according to accounts obtained from the Punch Newspaper on October 18, 2023.
Recently, on October 20, 2023, a large group of bandits stormed Danmusa town, the administrative centre of the Danmusa Local Government Area in Katsina State. They abducted an undetermined number of persons and killed seven, wounded ten, and injured ten more. In addition, the bandits killed and stole animals from the residents of the Kurfi LG villages of Dadawa, Wurma, and Tamawa.
Senator Yar’Adua stated that although security agencies must keep working to keep the nation safe, they can only fulfil their legal obligations if they work together under a single, central command structure.
Subsequently, the Senate called on the security agencies to improve inter-operational synergy and cooperation in order to address the many forms of insecurity that the country is facing in an efficient and comprehensive manner.
Additionally, the Red Chamber asked the agencies to create a National Security Policy paper that would serve as a blueprint for more efficient and effective coordination and synergy across the many security agencies.
It also urged the agencies to start working together on a joint training programme to improve their capacities and efficacy in addressing the many security issues facing the country.
