…NSA claims ignorance on release of $1 billion security funds
…recommends community policing
By Lawrence Olaoye
The federal government has given an indication that the Almajiri system of education may soon be outlawed.
Briefing newsmen yesterday after the inaugural National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Babagana Monguno, also claimed that he did not know whether the $1 billion approved for the procurement of military equipments to fight insecurity in the country was released to the Army or not.
Monguno told newsmen that he briefed the Council on the security situation in the country and have reasons why criminality is on the rise particularly in the north.
He said he briefed the Council on the drivers of insecurity which are unemployment, under-employment, poverty, drugs abuse, rising population.
Asked whether the $1 billion approved in 2017 following spiralling insecurity in the country, especially Boko Haram insurgency, herdsmen menace, kidnappings, banditry and armed robbery has been released, the NSA said “The $1billion I believe that you are talking about was actually earmarked for the military, not for security agencies, like the intelligence community and the paramilitary agencies.
It was earmarked for the military. As much as I know, whether it was given to them, I really don’t know.”
There has been apprehension however, over whether the finds had been released, when and for what specific purposes.
Amid the controversy, the Nigerian Army said the money was still being processed.
On the pervading insecurity in the North-east, The NSA said the problem still needed to be readdressed with collective effort of both intelligence and operations
He disclosed that banditry is fast replacing insurgency in the area as it now constitutes a major threat to national security.
He added that he briefed the council on the activities of the herdsmen/farmers. According to him, these are limited to only 16 states disclosing that the Council was developing a potent blueprint to address the challenge.
Monguno also said he briefed the Council on pipeline vandalism and illegal oil refinery in the Niger Delta adding that their activities ere also affecting the peace in Gulf of Guinea. He said the threat has an international dimension and it’s being addressed accordingly.
He sad “This situation in the Niger Delta is also affecting security in the Gulf of Guinea and we have been collaborating with the secretariat in Rwanda to work to reduce the activities of these people. So basically we need just domestic but international effort to deal with this situation. The federal government has invested much in setting up maritime domain monitoring facilities and hopefully not the next couple of months we should be able to set up all these structures to reduce the activities of these people.”
On national policing, he said “Finally, I also emphasized to council the need to conduct police reforms….Basically the society in today’s contest the issue of insecurity are not the traditional issues we know in the last century, those issues that were cut and dried and we could easily deal with these issues. Today, it is too complex to allow one organ of government to deal with these issues. Today, we need a whole of government, a whole of society approach right down to the lowest level in which individuals at local level are able to interface with the police and give them intelligence because dealing with asymmetric situation requires first and foremost human intelligence used to support technical intelligence so that these issues can be combated.”
