By Emeka Nwokocha
A frontline human rights activist, Oghenejabor Ikimi, Esq., has seriously expressed concern about rising insecurity across the country, even as he charged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government to decentralise the Nigerian security archetecture to be able to secure lives and property.
Barrister Ikimi, gave the charge via a press release made available to journalists on Friday 18 December, in Warri.
The statement noted that recently armed men suspected to be members of the Boko Haram Sect, stormed the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara Town, Headquarters of Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, the home State of President Muhammadu Buhari and in the process abducted hundreds of students from their dormitories.
It continued, “few days later, bandits invaded Ogu and Tegina Communities in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State where they abducted 22 persons and killed a priest in the process. This is coming barely a month after 12 Police Officers who were on their way to Zamfara State from Bornu State were abducted. Bornu, Niger, Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara and all other States of the Federation have witnessed the spate of armed robberies, kidnappings, assassinations and murder from gunmen, hoodlums and insurgents etc. without respite.”
The statement further stated, “before the Kankara incident, 43 rice farmers were brutally murdered and massacred by Boko Haram insurgents at Zamabari Village in Bornu State. In retrospect, in the year 2014 about 270 school girls were abducted in their school dormitories in Chibok, Bornu State by Boko Haram insurgents. Again in the year 2015 about 100 school girls were abducted in their school dormitories in Dapchi, Yobe State by Boko Haram insurgents.”
Against the backdrop of the heighted insecurity, Barrister Ikimi said, “in all these I believe that the time has come for our nation to revisit her internal security arrangement which is presently archaic and out dated. Our present internal security arrangement no doubt is structured to fail as same is over centralized, and needs to be decentralized for more efficiency and activeness.”
In proffering solution to the security challenges bedevilling the country, Barrister Ikimi said, “it is my view that the Nigeria Police Force should be decentralized along our six geo-political regions to effectively and efficiently tackle security challenges in each of the six geo-political regions with an Inspector General of Police heading each of the six geo-political regions.
“It is my candid view that security challenges do differ from one geo-political region to another and as such same should be funded and equipped to meet the peculiar security challenges in each region. For instance Policemen/women should be trained in line with the peculiar security challenges of the geo-political region he or she is serving. No wonder the several security outfits and adhoc arrangements adopted in the south west geo-political region and some States of the Federation to tackle security challenges in their States and region.”
He added, “in a decentralised Police Force, issues like discipline, welfare, training and re-training of officers and men and operations can easily be addressed and tackled for greater efficiency and service delivery to protecting lives and properties of ordinary citizens”
“The present security arrangement which was handed over to us by our colonial masters 60 years ago to meet the needs of the colonial era is now archaic and out dated as crime has grown sophisticated and same is been detected and fought in different climes with the aid of technology such as modern helicopters, drones, CCTV cameras, body cameras, forensic labouratories, state of the art vehicles etc. to mention but a few,” he stated.
