Legal luminaries have raised fresh alarm over the deteriorating state of security in Nigeria, declaring that the Federal Government has failed in its primary constitutional duty to protect lives and property.

Citing Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government, the lawyers contended that the persistent senseless killings across the federation are clear evidence of systemic collapse.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Ahamba, did not mince words on the state of the nation, asserting that the government’s inability to secure its citizens amounts to an admission of failure.

“The answer is in the equation: the government has failed this nation,” Ahamba stated. “Security is the primary function of any government. If you cannot secure the people, you have failed,” the SAN insisted.

Ahamba expressed deep concern over the tactical superiority of criminal elements currently ravaging the country.

He warned that the insurgency, once confined to the Sambisa Forest and parts of the North, is now moving southward.

“It appears these criminals are defeating us tactically, and I don’t feel comfortable about it. Our forces — both military and civilian — must wise up.

“It is a disgrace if these people defeat us. We cannot depend on Trump or America; we must do it ourselves before it gets out of hand,” he stated.

Echoing these concerns, legal analyst Mr Stephen Ubimago argued that Nigeria’s security woes are not only a failure of leadership but also a fundamental flaw in the country’s Constitution.

Ubimago described the current system as over-centralised and inflexible, suggesting that no leader, regardless of competence, can succeed under the present framework.

“If you bring Jesus Christ to be the President of this country and tell Him to operate with this Constitution, it isn’t going to work.

“Anyone who thinks the 1999 Constitution will fix Nigeria is living in La-La Land,” Ubimago remarked.

Ubimago pointed to the 2014 National Conference (Confab) Report as the starting point for any meaningful solution.

He advocated the immediate decentralisation of security, including the establishment of state and regional police forces.

“The problem is institutional. You cannot have terrorists running roughshod over everyone because you have over-centralised internal security,” he said. (Nigerian Tribune)