By Cross Udo

The National Security Council yesterday declared the National Taskforce on the Prohibition of Illegal Importation/Smuggling of Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons, Chemical Weapons, and Pipeline Vandalism (NATFORCE) as an illegal body that ought not to operate in any part of the country.

The Security Council, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential Villa in Abuja, also passed a vote of confidence on security agencies in their efforts to tackle myriad security challenges in the country.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who briefed State House correspondents alongside his Police Affairs counterpart, Mohammed Dingyadi, advised the NATFORCE leadership to disband itself with immediate effect or risk being disbanded forcefully by security agencies.

Recall that the Senate had in July passed into law the Bill establishing the Commission, while the House of Representatives is expected to pass its version upon resumption in September 2022.

Security experts had recently kicked against the Senate’s inclusion of NATFORCE in the new Act establishing the National Commission for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons.

But the security experts have urged the lawmakers to expunge NATFORCE from the Bill during the harmonisation of the two versions.

They argued that removing NATFORCE from the Bill would correct the alleged anomaly inadvertently caused by the Senate, which included the organisation in the Bill passed by the upper Chamber of the National Assembly.

The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) currently domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser and headed by Major-General A.M Dikko (retd.) is the only national coordination mechanism for the control and monitoring of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria.

Aregbesola at the briefing told journalists that the investigation into Kuje correctional facility attack by gunmen was still a work in progress.

He said the council received reports from all service chiefs and Inspector-General of Police, adding, “We are pleased with the performance of all security agencies and that the country is moving to the phase of consolidated.”

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He said the council also commended the police for their performance during the Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun governorship elections.

According to him, “The Council has just concluded today’s meeting. It received briefings from all security chiefs and the Council is very satisfied with the performances of all our security chiefs; the military, the police, and other security agencies. We are happy with their performance and the gains recorded so far.

“We are moving to the phase of consolidation of all those gains, such that by December, as ordered by the Chairman of the Council, the President, which he has said to all Nigerians before now, that we’ll put, essentially, most of the challenges of banditry particularly, insurgency, kidnapping for ransom, criminalities of that nature, far behind us.

“We are equally pleased with the performance of the Nigeria Police on the elections in Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun, which elections have demonstrated our commitment to democracy and expression of the will of the people at the polls.

“Equally of concern is the presence of some illegal outfits that impersonate the legitimate security agencies. Of particular concern is a body called the National Task Force on Illegal Importation of Goods, Small Arms, and what have you, but the short name for it is NATFORCE.

“The Council declares that body an illegal organization, it should just simply disband itself because the Council has ordered all security agencies to enforce the disbandment of that body and other such bodies that operate illegally without any force of law,” he said.

Asked who established the task force and the reason for declaring it as an illegal organisation, he said, “The National Task Force to combat Illegal Importation/Smuggling of Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons is an illegal body. There was never a time the Nigerian government set it up with any legislative instrument or power.

“So, what I’ve come here to tell Nigerians through you is that the body should simply disband itself or risk being forcefully disbanded by all security agencies.

“It is unknown to Nigerian laws and therefore illegal. It does not have any power at all to operate and it has been illegal all the while, but we are now reinforcing the fact that it’s an illegal organization that doesn’t have to operate anywhere in Nigeria. It should just phase out itself or risk the possible disbandment by all security agencies.”

Pressed further to explain why the security council took the decision, he said, “From my statement, it is very clear that this body is illegal, it’s not known to Nigerian law and once it’s not known to the law, it is an illegal body.

“We are not singling out NATFORCE alone, all such bodies that impersonate security agencies and commit illegality all over the place.

“We are just saying with this announcement, disband themselves or risk being disbanded forcibly by the Nigerian law enforcement agencies.

“I’m reporting to you the decision of the Nigeria Security Council, if you understand what it means, this is the highest executive organ on security in Nigeria.”

On his part, the Minister of Police Affairs, Dingyadi said, “What we’re saying, as far as NATFORCE is concerned, we are aware that the Constitution has provided the liberty to all Nigerians to associate and to mingle with other Nigerians, freely, but the issue is when it comes to… that is dealing with the issue of security, I think we need to have some restriction, you need to be regulated.

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“The issues of unlawful weapons, arms, and ammunition, are being properly managed by the Office of the NSA and we don’t think any private organisation should come into these security issues and try to bastardize them and that’s why we are insisting that they should disband themselves of government will disband them. It is a voluntary organization, they set themselves up.”

*Says Mamu’s arrest won’t stop negotiation to release remaining train victims

Fielding questions on the victims of the Kaduna train attack that are still in captivity, the Minister of Police Affairs, assured that there are other negotiators involved in the negotiations with kidnappers.

He said that the arrest of the Terrorists Negotiator, Tukur Mamu will not stop negotiations as other bodies are negotiating to ensure the safe release of the victims.

Also speaking on that, Aregbesola said investigations were still going on and that the abductors will face the wrath of the law in due course.

He maintained that efforts are ongoing to have all Nigerians in captivity either by kidnappers or bandits to release them.

On the fate of the kidnapped victims, he said, “Yes, we discussed this and we are assuring Nigerians we are concerned about those Nigerians that are still in captivity of these criminals. We’re not sparing efforts to get them all released.

“Works are in progress. The assurance is that we will get them all out, safe. All those who are abductors, and kidnappers today, will face the wrath of the law in due course.

“I will repeat what I said. Efforts are ongoing to have all Nigerians in the captivity of either kidnappers or bandits and we are not sparing anything to get them released.

“Mamu has been arrested by the DSS (Department of State Service) for actions that are not friendly to the objective of security management and control, as it concerns the victims of kidnapping that you have mentioned.

“The matter is in court and the court has ruled accordingly. We are not sparing any effort to release our abducted brothers and sisters, who are still in captivity.”

Speaking also on the arrested terrorist negotiator, the Minister of Police Affairs said, “Additionally, maybe you only came to know Mamu because he made himself known. Other negotiators are there negotiating on behalf of those captives.

“The parents are also there, security agencies are also there, we are all negotiating. So don’t say because Mamu has been arrested, there’s no negotiator. People are there, working to ensure that…as Nigerians who are committed to the maintenance of peace, liberty, and security for our fellow Nigerians, people go in to assist security agencies in this direction.”

Asked to reveal the identity of the unknown gunmen operating in the Southeast, the Minister of Police Affairs said, “This is a question that you and I will have to sit down and answer. They are unknown gunmen, we don’t know them and we take everybody to be an unknown person until he’s proven himself otherwise.

“We are doing our best to ensure that we try to identify the unknown persons and deal with them appropriately. I think that is progress and we are making a lot of in-roads to ensure that peace is maintained in the Southeast.”

The Minister was mute on the alleged police harassment and extortion in South-East

“We are not sparing efforts to release our brothers and sisters who are in captivity,” he said.