By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa, and other service chiefs yesterday appeared before the plenary of the House of Representatives to brief the lawmakers on the security situation in the country.
Others were the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
The heads of the military and other security agencies were at the House following the commencement of the sectorial debate on the state of security, as part of a sectoral review of key Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the government.
Last week, the House, turned back officers sent by the service chiefs to represent them at the sectorial report.
The House had insisted that the service chiefs must appear in person to brief them on the security situation in the country.
Meanwhile, at the commencement of the debate yesterday, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, noted that the lawmakers would only allow heads of agencies to appear before them.
The Speaker further noted that the House will not tolerate proxies in the ongoing sectoral engagements.
However, there was a mild drama before engaging the service chiefs and the IGP as a member of the House, Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) raised a point of order that the interaction with the lawmakers should be behind closed doors.
He argued that security matter is too sensitive for deliberation in the open.
His motion for an executive session was rejected by the Speaker, who argued that the House belonged to the people, insisting that the session would be an open one.
Addressing the lawmakers during the sectoral debate, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa asked for improved funding for the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), and other security agencies, disclosing that every military man including himself is fed with N1,500 per day.
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Musa also appealed for the cooperation and collaboration of the judiciary to ensure that criminals are not released on technical grounds.
He also called for a special court to address the issue of arrest of high-level criminals, as well as accelerate their prosecution.
The CDS who said that the release of high-profile criminals on technical grounds could put the safety of security personnel at risk, also expressed concern about the nefarious activities of the self-acclaimed Diaspora leader of secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and Eastern Security Network (ESN), Mr Simon Ekpa.
To achieve the desired results in tackling Simon Ekpa’s excesses, the CDS called for a diplomatic approach.
On illegal mining, Musa expressed a desire for states to take over the management of mineral resources within their domains.
Also, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, requested that the National Assembly intervene in enhancing surveillance to cover the backwaters, creeks, and other areas behind the coastline.
He said that if this is done, oil theft, pipeline vandalisation, and illegal refining will be monitored 24 hours.
This is as the Inspector General of Police, (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, said that Nigerians expect magic from an ill-motivated Police Force.
While taking his turn to address the lawmakers, the IGP said that he inherited a police force that was virtually abandoned and suffered neglect over the years with ill-motivated personnel.
Egbetokun said that despite the lack of motivation and operational facilities, Nigerians will not accept any excuse for failure but expect adequate performance from them.
He said police personnel were operating in a very difficult environment as a result of the neglect they have suffered over the years, especially in the area of inadequate manpower and operational facilities.
The IGP disclosed that the police has almost 6000 divisional police headquarters across the country with each requiring a minimum of four operational vehicles.
He added that while some have operational vehicles, many of such stations cannot boost a single operational vehicle.
Egbetokun said that while the United Nations’ recommendation is for one police to about 40 persons, the Nigerian police has a statistic of 1000 people to one policeman which is of course grossly inadequate.
He further revealed that the criminals in the country are aware of the handicap of the police force in Nigeria.
According to him, “Unfortunately, the citizens are not interested in any excuse for lack of performance by the police. They want us to perform and protect them and we are ready to do that. But we need your support. We need a well-motivated, educated, trained, and inspired workforce. Despite the challenges we have, we are doing our best. But, there is no adequate funding because no agency can perform above available resources.”
The IGP said the police have made several arrests, stressing that some of those arrested are being prosecuted.
