On June 19, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed new security chiefs with the charge to make the country safe again. As the new heads of security and military services settle in for the job, this piece focuses on restoring security and peace across the country; respect for human rights, transparency and accountability top expectations from lawyers, activists and security experts.

Introduction

By the provisions of Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution- Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy- the security and welfare of the people is the primary purpose of government.

But this fundamental task has over the past 15 years, proven Herculean for successive Nigerian governments as virtually all regions of the country have turned to slaughter slabs where human beings are daily massacred in cold blood.

These senseless killings became widespread in the past eight years as the terrorists made incursions from the Northeast to the Northwest, Northcentral, Southwest and down to the Southeast and South regions.

They attacked, pillaged, and rustled cattle in many villages as well as destroyed farmlands, and turned those hamlets into killing fields where women and children were raped and defenseless people abducted for ransom.

In the Northeast, Jihadists wreaking havoc have established control and governance in certain communities around the Lake Chad region where they force farmers and locals to pay levies before they can commute or have access to their farms.

Southwest states have also had their share of violence unleashed by terrorists masquerading as nomadic herders whose reign of terror sacked farming communities and made travelling along the major highways nightmarish.

These states were not left out of the onslaughts as AK-47-wielding marauders, according to reports, slaughtered innocent people who protested the destruction of their farmlands, raped and hacked women, children to death and set their homes and farms ablaze.

These killings, and the seeming inaction or alleged tacit support of government forces, no doubt, led to self-help from communities, a development that worsened the spate of mob justice, extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations.

Human rights abuses

In its 2020 country report on human rights violations published a few months ago, the United States alleged that there were credible reports of unlawful and arbitrary killings; forced disappearances; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment/ punishment by the government.

It claimed there were harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious abuses in a conflict, including reportedly unlawful or widespread civilian deaths or harm, enforced disappearances or abductions, torture, and physical abuses or punishment.

The report added that there were serious restrictions on free expression and media, including violence or threats against journalists, and enforcement of criminal libel and blasphemy laws to limit expression; serious government corruption; lack of investigation and accountability for gender-based violence.

Statistics

NEXTIER SPD’s Violent Conflict Database showed that 12,576 people were killed and 7,226 kidnapped in 3,396 incidents of terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, farmer/herder clashes and communal conflicts, among others between June 2020 and last April 26.

A breakdown of the report indicated that there were 274 terrorism attacks with 2,859 deaths and 197 kidnap victims; 1,355 incidents of banditry with 7,029 killed and 5,771 kidnapped; 676 attacks by unknown gunmen which resulted in 1102 deaths and 609 kidnap victims, and 306 incidents of kidnapping with 224 deaths and 567 victims.

It said 250 incidents of farmer/herder conflicts with 1,364 deaths and 64 kidnap victims were recorded; 61 communal clashes resulting in 267 casualties and three kidnap victims; 189 cultism incidents with 451 deaths; 164 incidents of extrajudicial killings with 485 casualties; 72 reports of violence associated with secessionist resulting in 170 deaths and a kidnap victim, as well as 64 cases of thuggery with 137 casualties and five kidnap victims, were recorded.

Change of guard

During his inauguration on May 29, President Bola Tinubu hinted at reforming the country’s security doctrine and architecture. He also promised to defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten its peace and stability.

It was therefore not surprising that three weeks after assuming office, he appointed Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser (NSA); Maj.-Gen. Christopher Musa, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS); Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff (COAS); Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff (CAS), and Kayode Egbetokun as acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), among others.

Not business as usual

Despite their impressive résumés, track records and tough talk, many Nigerians believe that the security chiefs will have to match their words with action and restore sanity across the country within the shortest time possible.

They also expect the security chiefs to carry out positive reforms that would uplift the morale and well-being of their operatives.

Experts believe the overall security of lives and property of Nigerians must constitute the major focus of the newly appointed service chiefs, which can be achieved through an enhanced tactical approach in addressing insecurity in line with international standards, as well as improved intelligence gathering, research, sabotage, espionage and psychological warfares.

They called for better synergy and inter-agency cooperation among defence and security services to complement reform and tactical implementation.

According to former Director, Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, Nigerians would be happy to see the end of insurgency and banditry in the North, as well as oil theft in the South.

If the security chiefs could achieve the feat in the next 100 days, Amachree assured that they would go down in history as the best.

Defence and security sector reforms

In his submission, Executive Director Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), anticipated that the new security chiefs would support and uphold a radical reform of the defence and security sectors.

Musa, who also heads Transparency International (Nigeria) and is chairman of the board of trustees, Amnesty International (Nigeria), said there must be collective actions and inter-agency collaboration towards preventing and meting out sanction against recurring cases of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, intimidation, bribery and corruption, extortion, abuse and other degrading treatments by some security personnel.

According to him, such reforms must be extended to sanitising the system of over-bearing bribery and corruption including targeted vetting and reviewing of the recruitment and deployment processes, as well as adequate remunerations across various levels, especially in the Police Force.

Rafsanjani said: “The existing system of Police Contributory Pension Scheme must be thoroughly reviewed to identify its relevance, sanitise the system of reported fraud, relevance, while addressing associated challenges to lack of gratuity and poor remuneration that de-motivates police personnel from efficient service.

“The current pension schemes, gratuities, take-home pays in the Police Force should be thoroughly reviewed to resonate with other defence and security services for efficient service delivery.

More importantly, the recruitment process into the Nigeria Police has been mired in controversy involving accusations of corruption and interference by politicians.”

According to him, the current vetting system within the Police Force recruitment process “only occurs on paper.”

He said in practice, applicants’ backgrounds “are not exhaustively scrutinised in the selection process against previous criminal or related cases.”

Rafsanjani added: “Just as cross-referencing and selection processes are influenced by socio-economic (poverty, unemployment, poor education) and political (influence of political and military leadership and quota system) factors.

“As a result, it is possible for those with criminal cases to still be shortlisted and indeed later on enlisted for sensitive assignments. The Nigeria Police Force Recruitment Guidelines are an attempt at consistency and due process in the recruitment of police, but in practice, these principles have been largely ignored.

“The Recruitment Guideline must be thoroughly reviewed, upheld and strictly implemented to restore credibility, sanity and professionalism in police recruitment system and process…

“We stress our position that transparency and accountability in defence budget implementation and procurement has become imperative to achieving meaningful reform in the nation’s defence sector. Through this process, reported corruption, diversion and mismanagement attributable to the procurement of weapons will be monitored and prevented.

“This includes revisiting and addressing counter-productive development in the defence and security sector, where appropriated funds are reportedly diverted to private pockets through a secluded procurement process and contracts, impacting negatively on the efficiency of military and security operations in Nigeria.”

Lawyers’ expectations of security chiefs

Lawyers and activists who shared their views on their expectations said the security chiefs must as a matter of urgency, ensure all their operations were conducted with utmost respect for the rights of the people including suspects.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mr. Seyi Sowemimo, thumbed up the appointments, saying the Tinubu administration appeared to be on the right track to stem the insecurity crisis.

Sowemimo said: “The new service chiefs are experienced military officers, and there now appears to be a political will to remedy the defaults of the Buhari Administration.

“For example the utterances of the new NSA and IGP suggest a seriousness and focus that was hitherto absent.

“I believe that the new administration has ushered in a period of high expectations and the National Assembly and the Judiciary will reflect the change and seek to be more sensitive to the expectations of Nigerians.

“The Tinubu administration appears to be an administration that is keen on engaging with the people and I envisage that within the next six months we should have a clear picture of whether the administration has the potential of transforming this nation.”

Another SAN, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, said it was his expectation that the security chiefs would be more proactive and inject new ideas and ideologies in the fight against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria.

Ojo said: “I expect them to be more sensitive to the welfare of the military officers who are tasked with the very daunting challenges of combating insecurity in the Northeast in particular. Never again should we experience a situation. where the morale of these gallant troops will not be addressed.

“There have been allegations. of funds meant for the welfare of these gallant officers being misappropriated, this is unfortunate. There is also the need to acquire more sophisticated weapons, aircrafts, aimed at lifting the bar of this war against insecurity in Nigeria.

It must however be emphasized that the Nigerian government has a lot to do in the area of fighting poverty. One of the root causes of insecurity challenges in Nigeria is poverty. For as long as the majority of the population are wallowing in what I refer to as acidic poverty, more young ones will take to crime, including kidnapping.

“They will become easily recruitable into terrorists gangs all over the country, for as long as poverty in the land remains either unaddressed or improperly addressed, the fight against insecurity will be nothing but a mirage, and a mission impossible.”

Ojo said he expects the service chiefs and their gallant officers to not trample upon the human rights of the citizens, including so-called terrorists under the guise of fighting or combating insecurity.

He said: “I know that there are cases where there might be gun duels between the terrorists on one side and the security officers on the other side. In such situations, it may be legally permissible for the terrorists to be neutralized by way of self-defense, but where there is no such exchange of gun battle, and you just have a situation where terrorists are caught and arrested, it to be illegal and unconstitutional to still go ahead and neutralize such captured terrorists who have not opened fire on the military officer.

“There is a thin line between neutralizing suspected terrorists who have declared war against the soldiers, and killing those who have been captured. In the latter one, such killings would amount to extrajudicial killings, and that will violate the fundamental human rights to life of the captured terrorist suspects. Such ones ought to be surrendered to the appropriate authorities for prosecution. The worst criminal is entitled to have a day in court.”

Constitutional lawyer, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, noted that there was no alternative to human rights and rule of law, emphasizing that any holder of power must understand that the process of ensuring security must not result in the trampling of human rights.

“Rule of law is sacrosanct. Eight years ago, Buhari announced that in the interest of national security, he would not obey some aspects of the rule of law etc. He, unwittingly, laid the foundation of his failures.

“Once the process of governance is on, then the first 100 days should be enough for me to see visible changes. Security is what we have come to expect from a new government. Sidon look is an affront to people like me,” he said.

Uwazurike also advised the service chiefs to appreciate the nature of the conflicts. In the Southeast for instance, he said there was no organisation for soldiers to fight but different criminal gangs emerging to attack helpless residents.

“Presently, the criminal gangs use the sit at home order of Simon Ekpa to show how formidable they are. They are not spirits neither are they invisible. A concise and credible intelligence system will clear the situation.

“In the North, the nature of the fight is different. The ISWAP and Boko Haram have used religion as a cloak for their nefarious activities. Besides, the two groups have territorial control of some local government areas. They operate a government system. So, a concentrated and multi-pronged attack will solve the issue.

“The menace of Fulani gangs fighting the Hausa farmers in the Northwest and also the Christian areas will require a different approach. The gangs, many from outside Nigeria, see themselves as entitled to financial payment from helpless farmers.

“It’s the refusal to pay that results in the deaths of people. Failure of intelligence is the cause of the inability to handle this internecine war,” he said.

Another senior lawyer, Tayo Oyetino, SAN, said he was confident Ribadu would perform as NSA and bring his experience to bear to better the country’s security situation.

He said focus must be on the police the lead agency for internal security, advocating better training, equipment and funding for the service to deliver on its mandate.

“You can only get the service you deserve from the type of police you have. Nigeria has not been fair to the Police, to a large extent. Yes. They are deprived of funding. And when the funds are released, I’m doubtful if they reach the personnel that require the use of those funds.

“Those are the areas that the police authority should look into. If you allocate funds for the police, you must ensure that the funds get to the ultimate beneficiaries.

“Many policemen buy their uniforms by themselves; that should not be. Police authorities should be able to kit the Nigeria Police and also provide all the necessary arms and ammunition, train them and also look into their welfare.

“You give a gun to a man and you ask them to go and stay on the road. Come rain, come sunshine he’s there, and you don’t look after him, what do you expect him to do?” queried Oyetibo.

On the need for respect of human rights, CISLAC’s boss said the service chiefs must work to uphold democratic values to pilot unity in diversity, promote peaceful co-existence, secure citizens’ rights and freedom, and protect the vulnerable groups.

This process, Rafsanjani said, must take into cognisance, a new policy framework with comprehensive mutual benefit to address existing communal challenges and compensate victims of social injustice and marginalisation to foster national integrity.

“They are encouraged to work with civil society and the media to cascade appropriate policy information and citizens’ re-orientation programmes to discourage divisive utterances, hate speeches and provocation, to complement the policy reform for sustainable peaceful co-existence.

“We observed that effort at citizenry levels to protest and express dissatisfaction with governance has so far been hampered by intimidation, harassment, illegal ban on protest, and arbitrary arrests. These without doubt, are basic symptoms of the lack of necessary democratic values and bad governance in Nigeria.

“Through this process, true democracy in Nigeria has been threatened by recurring political efforts to shrink civic space, deliberate disobedience to citizens’ human rights, lingering socio-economic injustice, poor policy response to diverse agitations, and mismatched political ideology by successive administrations.

“On this note, respect for human rights, civic space and improved civil society relations remain major expectations from the Service Chiefs, to allow constructive inputs into, and feedback on reforms, programmes and policies.”

“We demand unconditional respect for human rights of the citizens irrespective of their socio-economic and political status at all levels.

“We expect concrete and appreciable reform progress within the first one-year of this administration. In case of deviation, we as Civil Society will strengthen advocacy for accountability on campaign promises and other commitments,” he submitted. (The Nation)

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