The Tragedy in Taraba And National Security – TheNigerialawyer

The police should be properly equipped to deal with most
internal security problems

The tragic clash in Taraba State between the army and the police
which led to the killing of six persons as well as the escape of a
notorious kidnap kingpin has exposed the underbelly of the national
security situation in Nigeria. Given what has played out in the
public domain over the past week, the conclusion of many Nigerians
is that our soldiers are not only trigger happy, some of them have
also become part of the criminal enterprise. We call on President
Muhammadu Buhari to intervene decisively on the issue.

Last Tuesday, according to the police, special operatives sent
from Abuja had arrested a kidnap suspect in Taraba State,
handcuffed him and were driving towards Jalingo before they came
under heavy bombardments from soldiers. In the process, three
police officers and a civilian were killed on the spot while
several others were injured. The soldiers, according to police
spokesperson Frank Mba, later freed the handcuffed suspect. But in
their version of event, army spokesperson Sagir Musa said that
soldiers from 93 Battalion got a distress call that kidnappers had
come to operate in their community, leading to the hot pursuit that
culminated in the unfortunate killings.

However, the police have called out the army in another
statement, where they raised some pertinent posers: “Where is the
notorious kidnapper, Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume ‘rescued’ by the
soldiers? How could a kidnap suspect, restrained with handcuffs by
the police, escape from the hands of his military rescuers? If
Hamisu Wadume is a ‘victim of kidnap’ as claimed, and properly
rescued by soldiers, why was he not taken to the army base for
documentation purposes and debriefing in line with the standard
operating procedure in the Nigerian army? Why were the police
operatives shot at close range even after they had identified
themselves as police officers on legitimate duty as evident in the
video now in circulation?”

While the foregoing are valid questions, that the police are
going public is an indication that they may not be getting the
requisite support from the authorities. That may also explain why
the video clip of the incident, apparently recorded by one of them,
is now being circulated on the social media. Aggrieved, the police
insist that their officers were murdered by the soldiers who they
accuse of colluding with the kidnap suspect now at large. This is a
serious allegation that goes to the heart of the mismanagement of
internal security in Nigeria.

From the Niger Delta where mindless oil thefts and militancy
have for decades been a security challenge to the South-east and
South-west where there are increasing spate of crimes – from
kidnapping to vandalising of oil pipelines – we have for years been
deploying military troops in the streets to perform the role of the
police. That has led to cases where soldiers overstep their bounds
to engage in activities that highlight conflicts between them and
the police. It has also led to several unwholesome practices and
lack of professionalism with senior military men being found with
hundreds of millions of naira they cannot account for while the
junior ones openly solicit for bribes from motorists on the
road.

Regrettably, widespread deployment of soldiers for internal
security duties has not necessarily reduced the security challenge
in our country. Instead, soldiers have become increasingly mired in
the vices they were meant to curb. On its part, the police have
been weakened and demoralised. The solution is to quickly design a
phased programme of reduction of military involvement in internal
security duties while increasing the capacity of the police to deal
with all forms of criminality. Soldiers should be limited to
counter insurgency and other direct combat operations. The end of
democracy is best served when the populace is protected by a civil
force. The history of our country dictates that we must avoid any
further erosion of the professionalism of our military and their
needless clashes with other agencies.

Quote
Widespread deployment of soldiers for internal security duties has
not necessarily reduced the security challenge in our country.
Instead, soldiers have become increasingly mired in the vices they
were meant to curb

Culled from Thisday Editorial