The Roles of CSOs, Media on Defence-Security Sector in Nigeria- CISLAC

The Roles of CSOs, Media on Defence-Security Sector in Nigeria- CISLAC

PREAMBLE:
CISLAC)/TI-Nigeria in collaboration with Transparency International – Defence and Security Program with support from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands held a CSOs and Media Dialogue themed “Repositioning the Defence and Security Sector to be More Responsible and Accountable in Nigeria’s Democracy”. The Dialogue aimed at strengthening the capacity of CSOs and the media to advocate and conduct state and national engagements towards an accountable, responsive and efficient management of the Nigeria defence and security sector. It had some technical sessions with presentations tiled: A Case Study of Past and Current Defence and Security Corruption in Connection with Politics – The Gaps and Effect on Human Security; and Strengthening Civilian Oversight of the Defence and Security Sector – A Gap Analysis of Existing Defence and Security Laws. The Dialogue was attended by Civil Society, media and the academia. After brainstorming exhaustively on various thematic sessions, the following observations and recommendations were made:

OBSERVATIONS
Opening Session:
1. Continued militarisation and securitisation of elections have paved way for corruption and undemocratic tendencies and practices by security officials in Nigeria.

2. With the upcoming general elections, it has become imperative to set agenda for incoming politicians while repositioning the nation’s Defence and security sector for accountable services that advance democratic governance.

3. Recurring political interference in the Nigerian Defence and security sector has been reported as part of the potential effort by unscrupulous politicians in upturning outcome of the elections.

4. The illegal small arms and light weapons in the hands of militias necessitated by porous borders and insecurity have become a growing concern in Nigeria with resultant counter-productive investment in Defence and security sector.

5. Delayed review of laws and processes in defence procurement process has contributed to the lapses that encourage corruption in Nigerian Defence and security sector.

Second session:
1. The criticality of defence and security sector has positioned it as the centre of sustainable democracy and governance process in Nigeria.

2. Manipulation of payroll, abused selections in career progression, and other unaccountable payment systems across non-military engagements and commercial ventures constitute unattended but serious threats to Defence and Security integrity and accountability.

3. As human security is key in complementing effort and resources geared towards sustainable national security, security vote has been institutionalised to enable uninterrupted and prolonged diversion of funds.

4. While Nigeria suffers a high-risk incidence of corruption in defence and security sector, susceptible areas in the sector are procurement, personnel administration, operational, finance and political engagement.

5. Uninterrupted and unchecked diversion of defence and security funds into private pockets have continued to exacerbate precarious effects passed from one administration to another.

6. Discouraging and unsupported whistleblowing mechanisms in defence and security sector hamper defence spending and procurement accountability in Nigeria.

7. Despite the growing allocations hitherto to the defence sector, unchecked corruption in the sector has contributed to funds mismanagement, prolonged violence threats, high casualty rate, personnel mental/health disorder, grave security risk, weak response to crisis, and repeated weapons diversion.

8. Huge annual budgetary appropriation to the defence and security sector has not translated into sustainable security of lives and security due to pervasive corruption in the society which is a major factor undermining the military’s ability to curb security challenges confronting the country.

9. Defence corruption are enabled by opacity and secrecy, procurement complexity, vested interests, weak oversight and inadequate knowledge among Civil Society.

Third session:
1. Defence and security sector cannot be understood without adequate attention to civilian oversight, which constitutes a key component of Defence and Security accountability.

2. While Nigeria grapples with different forms of insecurity, Defence and security budget has continued to rise astronomically with little impact on national security.

3. In various civilian oversight of Defence and security sector, other corruption-susceptible services like Nigeria Police, paramilitary institutions, non-statutory organisations are not given adequate and prioritised attention.

4. Civilian oversight of Defence and security sector remains critical to sanction misconduct, misappropriation and mismanagement within the sector.

5. The fear of military coup, corruption, poor technical competence, capacity gaps, mainstreamed secrecy and lack of trust, excessive control are among the limitations backpedaling efficient civilian oversight of the Defence and security sector.

6. Ambiguity, outdated and needless complexity of key provisions in the existing laws like Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011 hamper deeper engagement and successful civilian oversight.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Opening Session:
1. Adequate oversight of the Defence sector to ensure total accountability, proper checks and balances in Defence budget.

2. Immediate priority for committed and unbiased representations from upcoming administration by the citizens to ensure objectivity and quality public service delivery to the country.

3. Adequate reform of Defence and Security sector for more accountable, efficient, responsive service delivery in Nigeria.

4. Denormalise the unprofessional use of security personnel for personal engagements to uphold objectivity, transparency and accountability in securing lives and property of the citizens.

5. Adequate sanctions against electoral offenders to demonstrate support for electoral credibility and sincerity in electoral reform.

Second session:
1. Human security provision in Nigeria is paramount to complement and enhance the overall national security.

2. Upholding total integrity in Defence sector through transparent and accountable procurement process, payroll systems, and credible selections in career progression.

3. Centralised procurement systems across Defence spectrum to enhance oversight activities for more accountability in funds allocation and spending.

4. Institutionalise whistleblowing mechanisms in the Defence sector for anonymous reporting of suspected mismanagement leveraging the latest technology and other independent reporting systems.

5. Revisiting the defence welfare and deployment systems to mitigate reported high incidence of personnel mental and health disorder.

6. Independent review of various military operations and missions to ascertain their relevance to the current needs and reality.

7. Application of adequate sanction for mismanagement of security and operational votes through appropriate legal framework to enable declassification and strict adherence to accountability in procurement and spending.

8. Support investigative journalism into Defence sector to enhance qualitative and quantitative reportage that raise citizens’ consciousness on security and funding accountability.

9. Institutionalise adequate mechanisms to supervise the oversight bodies across Defence spectrum to ensure uncompromised accountability in procurement and spending.

Third session:
1. Adequate civilian oversight of Defence and security sector is paramount to uphold professionalism, operational efficiency and efficient management of funds.

2. Strengthening capacity of the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, Civil Society for enhanced curiosity and collective oversight on Defence and security sector.

3. Proactive identification of systemic limitations to oversight activities to effectively engage and prevent positioned complications associated with the process.

4. Amendment to the existing laws to address gaps and resolve ambiguous provisions disrupting civilian oversight.

5. Adequate attention to technical capacity in appointment of the members of various Committees/Agencies through comprehensive Constitutional provisions to ensure competence in oversight activities.

6. Appointment to the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) should be opened to all Nigerian with the requisite qualification expertise to deliver.

7. Periodic audit of arms procurement for greater accountability
Signed:
1. Auwa Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani)
Executive Director CISLAC/TI-Nigeria
2. Dr. Dayo Kusa
Independent Consultant/Security Strategist
3. Dr. Prince Charles Dickson
Tattaaunawa Roundtable Initiative