Decentralisation of security sector, solution to insecurity – Group

The Executive Director of the centre, Mr Auwal Musa, said this during a one-day media workshop on Defence Anti- corruption Reportage, Civic Space and Oversight on Tuesday at Amber Residence, Lagos State.

CISLAC in collaboration with Transparency International – Defence and Security Program with support from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, organised the workshop.

Musa said that the country could no longer sustain the common trend of operating a centralised security sector, especially within the police to properly tackle and eradicate banditry and terrorism.

“For example, if anything happens in a state, the state governor cannot call on the police to do anything except there is approval from the president.

“By that time, people will have been killed and property damaged so there is need for us to have a holistic national discussion and dialogue about security sector reform,” he said.

The director opposed the idea of forming local militia adopted by some governors to fight insecurity, saying that creating such militia was unconstitutional and could have a negative outcome in future.

“Even though we are dissatisfied with the current security situation in the country, we cannot afford to encourage any illegal means of creating a militia in the name of responding to insecurity.

“Invariably, you will be arming citizens that are not properly trained, knowledgeable and lack the legal and constitutional mandate to carry out operations.

“The lack of proper training is likely going to create a situation whereby they misuse such kind of weapons against one another,” he said.

Instead, Musa urged governors to mobilise senators, house of representatives and security actors in their states to demand that the constitution must be reformed to give opportunity for state police creation.

“We have been talking about security reform for a long time under different government dispositions and we will not get tired of demanding for improvement until our demands are met.

“The lack of security accountability in this country is what is responsible for the continuous impunity on security situation and we have every right to demand for accountability on security operations,” he said.

The director said that billions of naira had been budgeted for the security sector but Nigerians were yet to see tangible improvement in the security of their lives and property.

“The country has become an endangered specie because a lot of people cannot move form one local government to another without being attacked or kidnapped.

“This begs the question to what they have been doing with all the billions budgeted for in the name of security.

“Why is it that the National Assembly is not able to interrogate the missing monies that are not commensurable to the safety, protection and welfare of the Nigerian security,” he asked ?

Musa said that the consequences of not properly securing a country would lead to a loss of international businesses, a crippled economy and by implication many Nigerians would be thrown into poverty.