- Better late than never, to crack down on criminals troubling the people
At the March 2 meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), President Muhammadu Buhari gave marching orders for the military, and other security agencies, to crack down on bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and other criminals, endangering lives and property in the country.
Given the dangerous degeneration of the security situation, in the last few years in particular, many believe this kind of tough signal should have been given much earlier. Even then, we believe it is better late than never; and this step demonstrates the government’s awareness of the gravity of the current security crisis. We also hope it signals a new sense of urgency in tackling this challenge.
Indicating the determination of the military to thoroughly implement the presidential order, deploy massive military and intelligence assets, and restore normalcy to vulnerable parts of the country, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-Gen. Babagana Momnguno (rtd), declared: ”Now, all non-state actors that have been causing problems for innocent people, not just in Zamfara State or the North West zone, but also the North East; and other parts of the country in the South-South, have been placed under surveillance by the intelligence agencies”.
As assuring as this may sound, it is surprising that, as professionals, the security high command needed a presidential diktat to do what ought to be routine.
Also noteworthy is the President’s declaration of a No Flight Zone (NFZ) over Zamfara State in the North East. That means that no flights will be allowed across the state’s airspace; and violators risk being brought down. This, as the NSA said, is to enforce the President’s immediate and indefinite ban on all mining activities in the state.
The measure is expected to check the activities of choppers, which allegedly fly illicit weapons and other supplies to bandits and kidnappers; and in return trips, allegedly ferry illicit gold, mostly illegally mined in substantial quantities, in Zamfara fields, to lucrative markets abroad. Though some of the mined gold is legitimate, no measure can be too drastic if it will help deter violent crimes from rogue miners; and protect the lives, property and livelihood of law-abiding locals.
However, we are surprised that Zamfara Governor, Bello Matawalle, has rejected the decision, saying, “if they decided to take such action, let them go ahead…Nigerians are waiting to see the outcome of the Security Council resolution to see if these bandits would be crushed. If the Federal Government fails to crush them after this resolution, then Nigerians will understand that they only sat and served themselves tea, nothing more [at the NSC meeting]”. That the state government was apparently not aware of this decision does not suggest efficient inter-governmental coordination.
While the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the imposition of the NFZ as a measure designed to ultimately declare a state of emergency in a state controlled by the opposition party, albeit without giving any logical basis for its view, the northern socio-cultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has welcomed the decision.
Its national publicity secretary, Emmanuel Yawe, pleaded with the government “to extend the ban to other states like Benue, Taraba, Borno where there are rumours and allegations that helicopters frequently drop arms for bandits and insurgents operating in these states”.
While we call on the military authorities not to dismiss the ACF’s advice outright without giving it due consideration, we urge all stakeholders to remember always that security issues have implications for the lives and property of citizens; and are crucial to the very survival of the polity as an entity. They should, therefore, as much as possible, not be politicised.
In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on March 3, presidential spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu, asserted that part of the directives given by the President was that bandits, and other unauthorized persons carrying AK-47 rifles, be shot on sight.
Curiously, the NSA did not give this indication when he briefed the press the day before on the NSC meeting. But there is no doubt that the spectre of insecurity has grown so gruesome that such drastic action may be justified.
However, the communication to the public could have been more tidily managed. In carrying out the shoot-at-sight order, it is important that law enforcement agents do not act recklessly, perpetrate impunity or violate the rights of law-abiding citizens.
