Day: July 19, 2023

Former Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has said that coup should be seen as an organised crime and punished accordingly to allow democracy to survive in Africa.

Buratai said this at a One-Day International Conference on Organised Crimes put together by the Tukur Buratai Centre for Contemporary Security Affairs, Igbenedion University Okada, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The theme of the conference is “Organised Crimes Network as an Emergent Threats to National Security”.

Buratai, who is also a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, said the battle against organised crime require concerted efforts of experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from diverse sectors.

Buratai said that the contemporary challenges had shown that the military must continue to play its constitutional role without getting involved in governance while democratic governments should govern the citizens well.

He said the military had been the at the receiving end because of the rate of attrition, adding that the crave for democracy now required the military to perform its constitutional role rather than get directly involved with governance.

“They can have many ways to influence the government to make sure that security role is played appropriately and also allow the democrats, the civilians, to perform their roles properly.

“The best way is for the military to remain within the constitutional bounds and also encourage the civil administration to do their best to solve the governance challenges or the developmental challenges of our country.

“It is by doing so that everybody playing his role, the democrats doing their own properly, the politicians, the military, the populace are performing their own roles properly.

“The politicians and the military should try to avoid being influenced externally to disrupt the democratic process in the country,” he added.

The former army chief said the causes of organised crime in the Sahel, particularly in Nigeria, were multifaceted, adding that porous borders remained one of the primary contributing factors.

He also said the easy movement of criminals and illegal goods across national boundaries as well as the prolonged conflicts in countries like Somalia, DR Congo, Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and now Sudan, had a direct impact on the rise of organised crimes.

“In Nigeria, organised crime has taken various forms, reflecting the country’s socio-economic challenges and political landscape.

“One notable episode of organised crime was the Maitatsine insurgency in the 1980s, which saw a radical sect advocating for a strict form of Islamic governance, resulting in violence and loss of lives.

“Another infamous case was the Anini saga in the 1980s, where Lawrence Anini led a notorious gang involved in high-profile robberies and assassinations.

“Additionally, the rise of kidnapping syndicates has posed a significant security threat, with criminal groups targeting individuals for ransom.

“Furthermore, banditry has become a major concern, particularly in the northwestern region, where armed groups engage in cattle rustling, armed robbery, and other criminal activities.

“The emergence of drug cartels has also contributed to the expansion of organised crime, leading to increased drug trafficking, money laundering, and corruption,” he added.

Buratai said the scope of organised crime in Nigeria was vast and diverse, requiring comprehensive and multifaceted approach from law enforcement agencies and government to effectively combat and protect citizens.

According to him, Nigeria has a criminality score of 7.15 out of 1 to 10 and is ranked 5th out of 193 countries.

“It is 2nd of 54 countries in Africa and 1st of 15 countries in West Africa according to the Global Organized Crime Index.”

He added that the countries with the highest criminality levels were those experiencing conflict or fragility.

Buratai cautioned that the alarming reality of ongoing criminal activities, ranging from the illicit theft of about 500 barrels of crude oil on a daily basis to the calculated displacement of communities for the purpose of mining minerals could not be ignored.

“These multifaceted crimes not only undermine the stability and well-being of affected regions but also perpetuate a cycle of violence and exploitation.

“These criminal enterprises not only rob our economy of legitimate growth and development but also inflict immeasurable harm on individuals and communities,” he said.

The Vice Chancellor, Igbenedion University, Prof, Lawrence Ezemonye, said the scale of insecurity in Nigeria was heightened by the growing convergence and proliferation of organised criminal activities such as banditry, terrorism, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, among others.

Ezemonye said the menace had together put serious strains on the nation’s security architecture.

He said the university under the auspices of the Buratai Centre for Contemporary Security Affairs, was poised to respond to the challenges through convocation of versed security analysts and security personnel including top-notch operatives to interrogate the issues.

This, according to him, is in tandem with the overall goal of the centre, which is to build the nation’s capacity in dealing with evolving and novel security challenges through cutting edge knowledge.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

A former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau says strengthening border security and blocking arms proliferation are crucial in tackling crimes in Nigeria.

Dambazau made the call at a one-day International Conference on Organised Crime, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The conference was organised by the Tukur Buratai Centre for Contemporary Security Affairs, Igbenedion University, Okada.

It has as its theme: “Organised Crimes Network as an Emergent Threats to National Security”.

Dambazau said that though organised crime was not something new, however the tactics and strategies deployed by the criminals change consistently to evade law enforcement agencies.

He pointed out that cross-border crimes such as drug, arms and human trafficking were issues that have consequences on national security.

He said the smuggling of arms and drugs usually combine to give criminals a tip to fight the public.

According to him, without weapons or drugs, these criminals will not be able to frighten the public and carry out their dastardly acts.

“The second issue is that we need to strengthen our security institutions, the border security institutions in particular, because quite a lot of the products are being smuggled through our porous borders.

“Our borders are porous and are approximately almost 5,000 kilometres, which is impossible to cover physically.

“So, with impossibility of physical government, we need to employ modern technology in order to do that.”

Dambazau also said Nigeria should partner its strategic neighbours to contain the security challenges.

“This is very important; not just the immediate neighbouring countries, but also strategic partners all over the world because if we have to rely on ourselves alone, we will not be able to deal with the situation,” he added.

The former army chief said that some of the criminals like Boko Haram terrorists have staging areas in some countries, such as Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin Republic.

“So, if we don’t partner with these countries, we will not be able to deal with them; likewise the smuggling of arms and others,” he said.

Dambazau also called for strategic partnership with western powers in the area of equipment and training to have capacity to monitor and act on time to deal with any security situation.

He also called on Nigerians to support the current government in its seven points agenda on national security, and its effect on food security.

In his remarks, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, said that the country has had fair share of terrorism that transcended national boundaries.

Ribadu was represented by the Coordinator, National Counter Terrorism Centre, retired Rear Adm. Yaminu Musa.

He said the current global terrorism report indicated that terrorism remained a serious threat in sub-Saharan Africa, which has become the epicentre and sanctuary for most deadly terrorist groups in the world.

He said sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 48 per cent of total global terrorism index in 2021, and 43 per cent in 2022.

According to him, the military defeat of ISIS in the Middle East, Taliban victories in Afghanistan, resilience of terrorist groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP, had shaped terrorist activities within the Sahara region, including Nigeria,

“There is an emergent trend within the terrorist group in Nigeria.

“That is the use of exclusion technique, and in that way, exclusion has become a crucial tool for terrorist network which enabled them to protect their complication and operational security.

“The use of a crucial technology by this network ensure that messages and data are coded in a way that can only be deciphered and certified by authorised recipients.

“This level of security and terrorist network protect their operational plans; coordinate attacks and secrecy, making it difficult to gather timely and actionable information,” he said.

The NSA said that effort were ongoing between the Federal and Borno Governments to rehabilitate terrorists who surrendered after proper screening out of those who should go through the criminal justice system.

Ribadu however said the impact of terrorism has continued to decline in Nigeria as a result of these efforts.

”The total death has dropped by 23 per cent, decreasing from 497 in 2021 to 385 in 2022 and the number of terrorists’ attack in Nigeria also has fallen positively to 120 in 2022 compared to 214 in 2021,” he added.

The Chairman, Police Service Commission, Dr Solomon Arase, said that organised crime evolved in Nigeria from stage to stage since after the civil war.

Arase, represented by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, said the challenge of terrorism and insurgency had helped to increase the level of organised crime.

He said the impact of organised crime on national security had continued to impede meaningful progress with dire economic consequences.

He called for the strengthening of law enforcement, kinetic and not-kinetic methods and intelligence gathering to tackle crime in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chief of Defence Staff, service chiefs and the Inspector General of Police all made presentations through their representatives at the event.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria