Security emergency: Lawyers, party leaders, others dissect Tinubu’s directive

•Flush out saboteurs in govt, military —MBF •Stop recruitment of soldiers, establish state police —Bode George •I hope president walks the talk —Okorie •FG playing politics with citizens’ lives —SDP’s Adebayo •Lawyers question timing, seek clarity

NIGERIANS on Thursday received the declaration of emergency on security by President Bola Tinubu with mixed feelings as many believed government was not doing enough to safeguard the people of the country.

While some notable individuals and groups that spoke with the Nigerian Tribune on the development lauded the president for the decision, many said concrete steps should be taken by the president to ensure that the country is safe for people to live in.

Following the upsurge in kidnapping, banditry and terrorism in recent time, the president, on Tuesday, declared a state of emergency on security and ordered that more security personnel should be employed to ensure there is enough manpower to secure the country.

The National President of the MBF, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, said the latest pronouncement of Mr. President was somewhat belated, given the intensity of the insurgency in the country and that the first step in addressing the issue was to look inward and fish out the saboteurs in government and the military promoting insurgency.

“There’s no two ways about this; there are government officials that are saboteurs and in the military, frustrating the good intention of the president to put an end insurgency in Nigeria. There are politicians, too, playing this dirty role. They tried it during former President Jonathan’s administration; they are at it again.

“The insurgents have infiltrated the ranks of the military; most of their operations are being sabotaged. For the good intention of Mr. President to manifest, all these accomplices should be weeded out within the military cycle in particular. After this, whatever the government wants to do to properly sanitize the system can follow.

“The Americans know the locations of these terrorists; therefore, they should be given a chance to help the country. We need help at this material time. We sympathize with President Tinubu; those who pulled Jonathan down are at work again; they believe the government is their inheritance. The government should stop exercising fear that if America to come in; they would tamper with our territorial integrity,” he said.

Stop recruitment of soldiers, establish state police now — Bode George

Elder statesman and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has renewed his call for the establishment of state police, insisting that the Federal Government’s plan to recruit more soldiers will not resolve the nation’s worsening insecurity.

George argued that the military is trained to confront external threats, not to perform domestic policing duties, and that Nigeria’s centralised security structure can no longer cope with rising internal challenges.

Speaking in Lagos on Thursday, the retired general said, “We don’t need any more soldiers or federal police. As a retired general, I can tell you that what we need is the establishment of state police. Policing is fundamentally community-based.”

He maintained that Nigeria’s national policing model—patterned after the United States—has become ineffective because it ignores local dynamics. He questioned the practice of posting officers to regions whose language and culture they do not understand.

“When a Yoruba man is recruited into the police and posted to Borno State, how can he be effective?” he asked.

According to him, state police will better address domestic security concerns because officers would understand local languages, customs, and security needs. He added that community-based policing would enable faster identification of criminals, reduce violent crime, and provide jobs for the country’s educated but unemployed youths.

Addressing concerns that state governors might misuse state police during elections, George dismissed such fears as selfish and unfounded.

According to him, state police will better address domestic security concerns because officers would understand local languages, customs, and security needs. He added that community-based policing would enable faster identification of criminals, reduce violent crime, and provide jobs for the country’s educated but unemployed youths.

Addressing concerns that state governors might misuse state police during elections, George dismissed such fears as selfish and unfounded.

State Police shouldn’t be at governor’s discretion —Comrade Erubami

Also speaking with Nigerian Tribune, former Chairman of Campaign for Democracy, Comrade Moshood Erubami, urged President Tinubu not to leave the initiative on establishment of State Police to the discretion of state governors.

He said the Presidency should collaborate with the National Assembly to make it a uniform national priority.

He said:” The issue of State Police has been on the front burner while I was in CD.

“ The challenge is that states in the North East and North West are reluctant. Now that he has taken the bull by the horns, he should advise the National Assembly to seize the initiative. It should be for all states, not at the discretion of state governors. Given the level of insurgency, state policing is inevitable.

“ The DSS that he mandated to flush out terrorists should do their work and ensure that the whole ungoverned spaces are covered.”

On the move to ban open grazing, the human rights activist noted that some states have made laws against it but forces used to open grazing have made such laws unimplementable.

“Cattle rearing is a serious business and those involved should do the right thing by embracing ranching. That will reduce farmers- herders clashes.”

Govt playing politics with citizens’ lives –SDP’s Adebayo

But, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has condemned what he described as carefree attitude and cosmetic approach of the government to tackling insecurity in the country.

He alleged that those who have made life a living hell for Nigerians as they kidnap, maim, kill and sometimes, sack entire community are protected by the government and allowed to go scot-free, while some other Nigerians are decisively dealt with once they appear to have crossed the line.

He drew a parallel with the case of Nnamdi Kanu who was hunted down and arrested in faraway Kenya, brought back to Nigeria, prosecuted and jailed by the same government that has failed or refused to arrest people who roam the country’s forests kidnapping and killing people, including school children in their numbers.

“This is a government that could capture somebody in Nairobi, Kenya, bring him for trial and sentence him to life in jail. But, they cannot capture people who are going around, terrorising everybody here in Nigeria. How do you go and carry hundreds of people? Have you been a nursery school teacher before? To get 35 children to cooperate with you inside the class is not easy.

So, how are you going to carry 35 people and take them somewhere without the security personnel doing anything about it?

“So, what I’m letting you know is that the president should stop communicating failure. He should get a grip of his armed forces. Remember, one armed robber, Lawrence Anini, was disturbing people in the old Bendel State, and Etim Iyang was commissioner of police.

He was coming to the Armed Forces Ruling Council’s meeting when President Babangida asked him, where is Anini? Before you come here and start sitting with us, my friend, where is Anini? And within a short period, they captured Anini.

“So, what I’m saying is that President Tinubu need to call the armed forces to deal with the terrorists and all of that. For kidnappers and all these opportunistic criminals who are taking easy targets, he needs to call the IGP, Egbetokun, and tell him, my friend, where are these kidnappers? And if I hear one more kidnap, you are gone,” he stated.

He also noted that President Bola Tinubu has never been serious about tackling insecurity in Nigeria, as his government has always treated perpetrators with kid gloves until recently when a tweet from the American President, Donald Trump, awakened him to realise the enormity of the insecurity in the country he oversees its affairs.

Lawyers question timing and clarity, call for decisive action

However, some legal luminaries have questioned the declaration’s legal clarity and slammed its timing as “too late, too little” given the protracted crisis.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Francis Amobi Nzelu, expressed bewilderment over the specifics of the presidential pronouncement, stating that the language used was strange to him as a lawyer.

“Emergency on what? In what area of life? Emergency on the security in Nigeria, or emergency on how to combat this appearing killing people in Nigeria?” Nzelu questioned during a reaction.

He added: “I don’t understand the language. I’m yet to understand what the president meant by security emergency.”

Nzelu further lamented what he views as a long-standing refusal by authorities to proactively address the root causes of the insecurity.

“If you allow issues to speak to you, you become a victim before the door,” he posited, suggesting the current crisis stemmed from a failure to “speak to issues at the appropriate time.”

The SAN made a startling assertion regarding the proliferation of armed groups. “These people, they call the bandits or herdsmen, are everywhere. They’ve been delivered in this country,” he claimed, adding, “They know them. I believe a thorough interrogation would reveal the truth. They are not faceless.”

Nzelu suggested that a reluctance to act is fueled by individuals who are “benefiting from this time.” He strongly implied that huge budget allocations to security, which he claims run over two decades, are being exploited.

Echoing the concerns over delay, another senior lawyer and rights crusader, Chief Malachy Ugwunmadu, acknowledged the President’s attempt at being responsive but stressed that the action was insufficient and belated.

“Well, I think the president is, at least, trying to be responsive, but it is coming too late, too little,” Ugwunmadu asserted.

The rights’ crusader argued that given President Tinubu’s significant role within the previous administration, he should have acted with urgency immediately upon assuming office, not after approximately two and a half years.

“He ought to have hit the ground running, not after two years. He ought to have arrested the situation, stemmed the tide, and made these profound reforms. Not any other time,” Ugwunmadu maintained.

He specifically recalled a cardinal component of Tinubu’s campaign promise to significantly boost the numerical strength of law enforcement agencies, mentioning a figure of 100,000 new recruits.

While recognising the President’s executive powers as the Commander-in-Chief and his current “sensitive and responsive” posture to the needs of Nigerians, Ugwunmadu reiterated his core criticism.

“However, it is coming too late, too little,” he said. Ugwunmadu reminded the President that security is a core mandate, not an act of charity, citing the country’s constitution.

“According to Section 14, security and welfare remain the primary purpose of government, security, and welfare of the people,” he said.

Source: Tribune