Fighting Insecurity: A Case for the ‘Interactive Approach

Fighting Insecurity: A Case for the ‘Interactive Approach‘

By Abdulsalam Mahmud

The road to ending pervasive insecurity in Nigeria may still be long. Figures by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, according to a newspaper finding, show that crime incidents in the country rose by 298.66 percent from 31,553 in 2006 to 125,790 in 2016.

A story published by Dataphyte further revealed that the total number of killings by non-state actors from May 2015 to September 2021 was an estimated 38,631 persons, a 248.03 percent increase over the figure between 2009 and 2014. It is a no-brainer that insecurity has impacted negatively on the country, and the Nigerian populace.

Aside from discouraging investment and reducing productive activities and public revenues, ravaging security challenges in our dear country has aggravated poverty and the unemployment crisis. Experts say about 11 percent of Gross Domestic Product, GDP, has been lost, with projects worth about N12 trillion abandoned nationwide.

But the federal government and our security agencies, together with the Nigerian military, have been unrelenting in tackling the horrors of insurgency, armed banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling, orgies of herders-farmers pogroms, sea piracy, oil theft and robbery, among other security threats, rearing their ugly heads.

“From 2015 to date, security budgets have been on the increase just as total national budgets increased. In 2015, when the national budget was N4.405 trillion, the total budget for the security sector was N988,892,506,442. In 2016, when the budget rose to N6.06 trillion, the security sector got N1.07 trillion, just as it got a total of N1.15 trillion in 2017 when the budget rose to N7.44 trillion.

“In 2018, the budget was N9.12 trillion while the security sector got a total vote of N1.35 trillion. And in 2019 and 2020, the budget was N8.92 trillion and N10.59 trillion, while security got N1.4 trillion and N1.8 trillion respectively.

“In the N13.59 trillion 2021 budget, defence and security got N1.96 trillion with another N722.53 billion about to be added through the supplementary budget. Nigeria’s military budget is greater than the combined armed forces spending of the rest of West Africa,” part of a report published by The Guardian in 2021 reads.

On its part, the Nigerian military and Police, together with other security and para-military institutions have their officers and men across the country, leading various combat operations against terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, cultists, robbers, violent secessionist groups, and marauding herders.

The combat operations however are at a costly price. About 965 soldiers and policemen were killed in two years by Boko Haram and terrorists of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, according to an investigation of Daily Trust newspaper.

The story published on July 3, 2023, asserted that at least 965 soldiers and policemen have died in the line of duty as a result of the escalation of violence in many parts of the country, perpetrated by Boko Haram, bandits, activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other non-state actors, in the last two years.

Daily Trust Saturday tracked the various violent incidents related to killings of police and military personnel between January 2021 and April 2023, in which findings revealed that Nigeria’s security officials bore a significant brunt of killings by non-state actors. The data metrics, which were exclusively gathered from reported incidents in newspapers, showed that 581 policemen and 384 military personnel died in the line of duty within the period under review.

A breakdown of the data mined by the tabloid showed that out of the 384 military personnel killed, 192 were killed by Boko Haram and other terrorists, 68 by gunmen and the IPOB, 62 by bandits and 62 by other criminal groups and circumstances. Newspaper reports showed that from the 581 police officers killed, 344 were killed by gunmen and the IPOB, 119 were killed by bandits and kidnappers, while 53 by armed robbers and other criminal groups.

The data also showed that 32 police officers died in accidents, while 18 were killed by colleagues and other security personnel and 15 by Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP). Data from media reports collated by Daily Trust also revealed that men of the Nigerian military recorded heavier casualties in the North, especially North East and North West, where activities of Boko Haram and bandits are more prevalent.

The police, on the other hand, suffered heavier casualties in the southern part of the country, especially the South East and South-South, where activities of IPOB and gunmen, a term loosely used to refer to attacks by suspected members of the Eastern Security Network, the armed group of IPOB are more prevalent.

The data revealed that out of the 384 military officers killed in the last 28 months, 82.6 percent of the killings came from the North while the remaining 17.4 percent came from the South. The data from police killings revealed that out of 581 police lives lost in the last two years, 60 percent came from the South while the North has 40 percent.

The data also showed that 305 of police killings were as a result of ambush by gunmen, with the South East and South-South recording 73.7 percent. In search of a permanent solution to security woes afflicting their states, state Governors in the South West joined forces to establish the regional security outfit of Amotekun, while others like Governor Dikko Umaru Radda establish a Community Watch Corps to nip Katsina’s banditry malaise, once and for all.

As key stakeholders in building a peaceful and secured Nigerian state, various religious bodies such as the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the Jama’atu Izalatul Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah, JIBWIS, have offered valuable suggestions and ideas towards addressing insecurity, at some points.

Speaking at the 106th Annual Session of Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, said it would be an understatement to say that there were security challenges in Nigeria today. He observed with disappointment the unchecked attack of both Nigerians and foreigners due to terrorism and various criminal activities in the country.

Ayokunle also advised the government to be proactive in responding to security challenges and bringing the perpetrators and their sponsors to book. He said that no effort must be spared in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency and their sponsors at all levels.

The CAN President further urged the government to equip and empower law enforcement agencies to enable them tackle Nigeria’s security challenges. Recently, leaders of the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, on a courtesy call to the Defence Headquarters, DHQ, made a case for ‘interactive approach’ strategy in the war against insecurity.

Dr. Bashir Aliyu Umar, who led the delegation, called for an interactive approach and collective responsibility in fighting the menace of insecurity. While appealing for the re-examination of the existing process of securing the nation, he added that “there can never be peace without justice”.

Other speakers at the event praised the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, for his uncommon leadership qualities and neutrality in the discharge of his responsibilities. They also called for team work and the use of modern technology to fight insecurity.

It is tragic that the war against insecurity has lingered for over a decade. There is need for it to now come to an end. A lot of havoc have been wrecked. The Gen. CG Musa-led DHQ should continue to evolve its own cutting-edge strategies to massacre enemies of the Nigerian State. However, experimenting the novel strategy mulled by the Supreme Council for Shariah will not be a bad idea.

Mahmud is the Deputy Editor of PRNigeria, and wrote in via: [email protected].