From Ben Dunno, Warri
A renowned security expert, Mr Idris Bawa, has attributed the growing increase in acts of terrorism across the country to a lack of political will by the federal government to tackle insurgency, insisting that the nation cannot make any meaningful headway should the government continue with its present disposition to curbing the menace.
Appraising the security challenges in the country during a question and answer session at the ongoing two-day workshop organised by the Nigerian Bar Association in conjunction with MacArthur Foundation in Warri, Delta state, the expert noted that the nation would only begin to see positive changes if the government started adopting pro-active measures.
He disclosed that there are more sophisticated ways to fight insurgency like the use of artificial intelligence such as ‘drones’ to locate the hideout of these terrorists even in the remote forest, adding that the fact government had not engaged in such intelligence shows a lack of sincerity and resolve to end insurgency on the part of the government.
“So, it has to do, first and foremost, with political will. If there is political will on the part of the government, we can deal with these issues extensively”, he affirmed..
He said that the United States Government had shown Nigeria the way to go in this regard when a kidnapped U.S. citizen was rescued alive from terrorists on Nigerian soil and the hoodlums involved were also neutralized, here in the country.
“So, it is not rocket science. One thing is to let us have that political will to say we want to deal with these terrorists. And once we do that, enhance the police”, Idris Bawa declared.
“Again, let’s look at the Police Force. If you want the Nigeria Police to work effectively, there should be decentralization of funding for police operations from the Divisional Police to Area Command to AIG, DIG, IGP, to enhance efficiency. Release their funds directly to them. Until we do that, we are joking.”
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He also emphasized the significance of community policing in checkmating insecurity in the country noting that “apart from the formation of Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), the society should go ahead with the creation of Community Safety Partnership, that is, know your neighbour, the person who is staying around you, what the person does and all of that, and you report all incidences”.
He specifically called for the deployment of “artificial intelligence”, that is, drones into the forests where the terrorists are hibernating, to monitor their nefarious activities and deal with them decisively.
While noting that the authorities know where abducted people are being kept by terrorists, the security expert declared pointedly that “if they know where they are, rescuing them doesn’t take anything”.
He said, “Intelligence now shows that there are certain chemicals that can put people to sleep, except for those who are asthmatic. Apply these chemicals around these areas so that those that would be rescued could be brought out, and those arrested could be prosecuted”..
“So, until we are ready to deal with these issues, we are not going anywhere”.
Other speakers at the security workshop with the theme; The Role of the Nigeria police o the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and compliance with the principles of human rights in law enforcement”, included Mr Saka Azimazi, former Deputy Director, Legal and Investigation, National Human Rights Commission.
Others are; Barr. Tobenna Erojikwe, Chairman, NBA Institute of Continuing Legal Education and Benard Onigah, Esq., Secretary, National Human Rights Committee of the NBA.