The Nation Newspaper

Tag: security

  • Insecurity is a threat to Nigeria’s existence, says lawyer

    Insecurity is a threat to the coun-try’s unity and requires more than use of force to tackle, a lawyer and dispute resolution expert, Adedapo Tunde-Olowu, has said.

    “I do not think Nigeria has faced a more serious threat to its existence as a nation since the civil war ended in 1970,” he said.

    He said to end insurgency, the government must address its causes holistically.

    “As you are aware, the security situation, in many parts of Nigeria is fragile and unpredictable. Terrorist attack, civil disturbances and kidnapping have become the order of the day in many parts of the country. Tensions have exacerbated between the followers of major religions in the country

    “Short of all the rhetoric, the turbulence we are experiencing in Nigeria today has its roots in religious, socio-economic and political factors. Religion cannot be divorced from politics and the level of our country’s economic development,” he said.

    Tunde-Olowu, who is a partner at Lagos law firm Aelex, spoke at a media briefing on its forthcoming 9th Annual Lecture titled: In God’s Name: Politics, Religion and Economic Development. It will hold on Thursday at the AGIP Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, by 2pm.

    “Given our security situation, you will agree that the theme of this year’s lecture is relevant and speaks directly to our current situation.

    “In Nigerian politics, there is a continuous balancing of religious interests. I must say that the interaction between politics and religion is not necessarily negative.

    “The major religions of the world emphasise the core values of accountability, honesty and service to mankind. If these values are imbibed by our leaders, we will certainly have a more stable and progressive country.

    “Unfortunately, it appears that religion is being used by politicians to secure political gains and silence the opposition,” he said.

    Tunde-Olowu said insecurity has cost Nigeria a lot. “Stability is an important factor for attracting investments to any country.

    “No foreign investor will invest his money in a country plagued by instability and civil unrest. Even the local businesses cannot thrive under these conditions.

    “We must remember that Nigeria has a mono-culture economy, which is plagued by corruption and a huge infrastructural deficit. Violence and insurgence simply aggravate our existing problems and make the country an unlikely destination for business.

    “These developments will certainly have a negative effect on our fragile economy and stall our economic growth.”

     

  • Bill to fortify security in Lagos passes second reading

    A bill for a law to fortify the security system in Lagos State passed the second reading on the floor of the House of Assembly on Tuesday.

    “The State Emergency Command and Control Centre bill” is expected to regulate telephone calls to the emergency centre.

    Appraising the bill, Mr. Ipoola Omisore (Ifako Ijaye 11) said: “It will fortify the security system”, adding that any person who knowingly gives or causes to be given a false alarm to a person acting on behalf of the centre or who uses emergency telephone lines in any way other than those stipulated in Section 15 shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N500,000 or three years’ imprisonment after making the attempt three times other than two times provided for in the bill.

    Members, who spoke on the importance of the bill, said it shall provide emergency telephone numbers for the public in times of emergency.

    Funmilayo Tejuoso (Mushin 1) said the bill, when passed into law, would “facilitate quick and efficient response to accidents, emergencies and disasters and educate the public on the use of emergency telephone lines as well as adopt appropriate measures to prevent the misuse of the centre’s facilities.”

    Deputy Leader, Lola Akande, suggested that the centre should be a unit under the Ministry of Information and Strategy”, and proposed 999 and 911 as additional emergency lines to the already existing 767 and 112.

    Chief Whip, Abdurrazaq Balogun, said inconsistency in the bill should be addressed before passing it into law.

  • Firm partners police on security

    A LAGOS-BASED security expert, Alhaji Ibrahim Odofin, has said effective policing has reduced incidences of kidnapping around the Lekki axis.

    He attributed this to the combined effort of private security operators and the police in the area.

    “We have not had many incidences of kidnapping, and this because the security agencies and the police are on top of the situation,” he said.

    Odifin, who is the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Eleshin Security Services Limited (ESSL), which secures estates around Lekki managed by the AIRCOM Estate Managers, spoke while handing over new high-tech security gadgets to men and officers of the firm.

    The estates include Friends Colony Estate, Milverton Estate, Bourdillion Court Estate and NAPRER Estate. ESSL also provides security for Balcary Estate, among others.

    The gadgets include bomb detectors, bullet-proof vests, Clarret metal scanners, walkie-talkies, handcuffs, tear-gasses and boots, among others.

    “Our responsibility as security professionals is to protect those who engage our services. No security officer can perform efficiently if he is not well-equipped and well-trained.”

    Addressing the security officers after an early morning drill and hand-over of the gadgets, Odofin said they must be alert to suspicious activities in their surroundings, and must be quick to alert the firm’s head of office through their walkie-talkies, or the police.

    “You are not to confront armed robbers by yourself, but be smart enough to alert the police without endangering your lives,” he said.

    He further reminded them of steps to take in case of fire, such as calling the emergency numbers and making efficient of use of the fire extinguishing system available.

    “We are there to protect lives and property. Don’t invite your friends to where you are working. Don’t fight in the estate. Don’t speak to anybody anyhow. Be polite. Don’t ask for money from residents.

    “The bomb detectors are meant to search every vehicle coming into the estate. If you suspect anything, quickly alert the police. Dress properly. Respect the supervisors who work at AIRCOM, but they have no right to control you.

    “Anything you want, report to the office. The management will deal with it. You don’t work under them. You don’t have to panic. Only ESSL can sack you. Be security conscious.

    “We need to be very, very smart and wise. Don’t leave your beat and go to another place,” Odofin said.

    A security supervisor at AIRCOM, Mr Moses Isaiah, said the police always respond swiftly when alerted of any security threats in the estates.

    “As regards relationship with the police – so far, so good. Honestly speaking, the police are doing their best. They are trying.

    “When we call them, they respond quickly. They are very good in that. We have a cordial working relationship with the police,” Isaiah added.

     

  • FG will determine compensation for Boko Haram vctims – Committee

    FG will determine compensation for Boko Haram vctims – Committee

    The Presidential Committee on Dialogue and peaceful resolution of security challenges in the north has said the Federal Government would soon determine if Boko Haram Victims are to be compensated.

    The committee made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday and signed by the Secretary to the Committee, Engr. Esther Gonda.

    The committee said contrary to some media reports, it never ruled out any form of compensation for victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.

    The statement said what the chairman of the committee, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki said was that the committee was to look into the issue of victims’ support and not to cancel compensation for them.

     

  • Osun PDP member’s ‘killer’ arrested

    •Party wants murder probed
    •ACN urges police to tighten security

    A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, simply identified as Laniyi, has been arrested for allegedly killing another member of the party, Kunle Olagoke (25), last Sunday during a clash in Edunabon, Ife North Local Government Area.

    A police source, who preferred not to be named, said Laniyi has been arrested and investigation has begun into the killing.

    The PDP’s Publicity Director, Prince Diran Odeyemi, yesterday urged the police to unearth the circumstances that led to the murder and bring the culprit to book.

    In a statement, Odeyemi said: “The insinuation that the crisis erupted as a result of a supremacy battle between supporters of a governorship aspirant and another group is far from the truth.

    “The congress was held over a year ago and there has been no rancour in the area until this unfortunate incident. The killing has nothing to do with anybody’s governorship ambition.

    “I urge the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the murder to ascertain the culprit and bring him to book.”

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) described the killing as “a foretaste of the PDP’s plan for next year’s governorship election.

    In a statement, the ACN’s Publicity Director, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, urged the police and other security agencies to brace up to protect the people during next year’s election.

    He said: “Olagoke’s killing is reminiscent of the murderous disposition of some PDP governorship aspirants, who are bent on winning by violence and murder. Those PDP leaders, who are notorious for violence, thuggery and murder, are on the loose and have started killing from Edunabon.

    “If they are not checked now by the police, things could get worse before next year’s election. A stitch in time would save several lives, so the police must act swiftly to bring Olagoke’s killers and their sponsors to justice.”

    Explaining that some opposition politicians had threatened the governor on many occasions, Oyatomi said “dangerous characters” should not be allowed to roam the streets.

    He said: “It is clear that these desperate politicians will stop at nothing, including killing their own member, to get their party’s ticket. If they could do that to their own member, then they will do worse things before, during and after the election if the law fails to stop them.”

  • 54,000 security officers for FIFA Confederations Cup

    54,000 security officers for FIFA Confederations Cup

    Rio de Janeiro  - The FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 will rely on
a security plan comprised of Brazilian federal, state and municipal forces, with
more than 54,000 security officers involved in implementing the security plan
designed for the competition that kicks off  Saturday, 15 June. 

Details of theConfederations Cup security plan were announced during a press conference held on
Friday, 14 June at the Open Media Centre in Rio de Janeiro.

According to General Jamil Megid, head of the Brazilian Ministry of Defense's
Special Advisory Staff for Security of Major Events, the objective of the security
strategy is to act preventively. The national defense contingent relies on 20,000
security officers in the host cities; over 1,100 of this group are military
personnel with specializations such as combating terrorism or chemical and nuclear
agents.

"The main objective in the areas of public security and defense is to provide a safe
and peaceful atmosphere. The principal focus is on coordination and integration.
Obviously there are several institutions on the federal, state and municipal level,
all of whom have their own doctrine and manner of procedure. What we are attempting
is to optimize these efforts and build a synergy, with all these institutions
cooperating with one another," said General Megid.

In addition to plans for the the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013, planning
national defense and public security for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 also calls
for integrating strategies among the armed forces, installing command and control
Centres, and buying equipment and technology, all of which totals R$ 1.9 billion
(approximately US$ 890 million) in investment from the federal government. Eight
Integrated Command Centres have already been installed, in addition to two national
Centres (in Brasília and Rio de Janeiro), and one in each host city for the
Confederations Cup.

On Thursday 13 June, President Dilma Rousseff inaugurated 12 Integrated Mobile
Command Centers, two for each city hosting games of the Confederations Cup. The
equipment used to help integrate the work of the federal, state and municipal
security forces includes monitoring and communications systems to provide security
for the duration of the competition. The security plan also includes helicopters
with high-technology vigilance equipment, anti-bomb equipment, and other security
apparatuses.

The Brazilian Ministry of Justice's Extraordinary Secretariat for Security of Major
Events has confirmed the contingent will include 3,500 federal police officers;
2,800 federal highway patrol officers, 600 members of the National Public Security
Force; 150 members of the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN); 31,000 military
police officers; 5,100 firefighters; 3,400 police officers; 6,200 municipal guards;
and 2,200 traffic police officers.

José Monteiro, director of operations at the Extraordinary Secretariat for Security
of Major Events, explains that the investments are enabling a coordinated strategy
between security forces from all three levels of government. "The equipment
purchased is only the visible part of what has been done over the last few years.
The part that cannot be seen, which is just as important as the material legacy, is
what we call the operational and doctrinal legacy: bringing the forces together,
working and planning in concert."

In addition to Monteiro and General Megid, the press conference was attended by
Colonel Wanius Amorim, Extraordinary Superintendent for Major Events at the Rio de
Janeiro State Civil Defense, and Lieutenant-Colonel Marcelo Rocha, head of the
Operational Planning sector of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police.

  • ‘Only good governance can restore security’

    The security situation in the country is getting worrisome by the day; kidnapping is on ascendency. People blame security agents for this. What is your reaction to this?

    Well, when you talk of this problem of security and security agencies, it pains me. How much do you pay the average Nigerian police man. What is their take home. The State Security Services (SSS) men, how much do you pay them, the soldiers, what is their living conditions in the barracks in the first place. The salary of the average Nigerian police man cannot take care of the man and his family for two weeks. In many police stations in this country, they don’t even have stationery to take complaints from complainants. When you get to such stations, they will ask you to bring money for them to buy writing materials to take your statement, is this how they will provide you with security. So, when you look at all these, you begin to wonder why there won’t be insecurity in the country .Some of them will prefer to go and serve in oil producing states, some of them even bribe their ways to such places because they believe that if they go there, they will see bunkering, follow ships and other such illegal activities where they will make extra money. This is where they believe they can make ends meet.

    How do we get out of this?

    The starting point is electricity supply, let us have light. There are so many micro-economic activities that people engage in to eke out a living such as welding, barbing saloons , hairdressing and so on. These activities do not require a lot of money to start and sustain, but they need electricity to operate. The moment we have light in this country, some of those social vices will disappear. Power supply will reduce the money these people spend in providing services, they do not need to buy generators and fuel them. They will be gainfully employed and this insecurity will disappear. Look, nobody wants to be a thug, people engage in thuggery because they have no hope elsewhere, if they are gainfully employed, who will like to kill himself being a thug for some other person. These are the causes of insecurity in the country, it is because the government is not alive to its responsibilities.

    The menace of insecurity in the country is growing everyday. Just last week, the family members of a Supreme Court Justice were released by kidnappers at a cost yet to be ascertained. How do you think we can overcome this challenge?

    It is very unfortunate that our value system has been eroded and devalued. It has really gone. It has gone in the sense that our leaders have neglected their work. They have not done what they are supposed to do to develop the economy, create jobs and employment for the people. Because the leaders have not done what they are supposed to do, the youths do not see a bright future, many of them do not see a tomorrow and because they do not see a tomorrow, many of them take to crime. They are forced to take to crime to survive, because of the gulf between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have nots, those who have are high up there and those who do not have are down there in the bottomless pit. You can also see the high level of corruption in the system, the high level of primitive acquisition of wealth where people now steal public funds in tens of billions of naira and so on. All this money he does not need. Some of them will hide all these money abroad. When they die, the money will go into foreign hands; they cannot be recovered and they will be lost. These are the monies that would be used to develop the country. Some of the youths will graduate from the universities with good grades but for years, they will keep roaming the streets without jobs while their counterparts who came out with lesser grades are employed with big pay simply because they have godfathers. When they get such jobs, they cannot perform because they don’t have the mental capacity to do that, they get there and start fumbling and stealing fund believing that corruption is the best way to survive.

    As a former General Secretary of the Bar, which areas of NBA constitution will you like to be amended in the efforts to alter the NBA constitution to meet the challenges of the 21st century lawyer?

    I will like the NBA to model its constitution after that of the International Bar Association (IBA) where you make the Sections more vibrant, like the Section on Legal Practice (SLP), the Section on Business Law (SBL), Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) and so on. Everybody cannot be on general practice, we cannot put all our eggs in one basket, jack of all trades and master of non. Professionalism is the way to go in modern law practice, so if it is petroleum law you want to practice, pursue it , not today you are on rent tribunal, tomorrow you are on environmental law, no it cannot work like that. Pursue one area of law practice that is when you will have the opportunity to develop to your optimal best that is what should concern the NBA and not about elections and contest for offices. Nobody is a professional politician in the NBA, the objective of the association is to assist its members to realise their own goals, to achieve their best and assist the judicial system to administer justice equitably in the country so that we can have an efficient, effective and virile judiciary in the country.

    You did a certificate course on Asset recovery. What is it about and how has it enhanced your service delivery to your clients?

    Well, what happened on that certification on assets recovery is that we researched and found out that as at then, assets recovery was not practised that much in Nigeria, but it is more relevant to Nigeria because everything that we did in that with money and issues of how monies were being stolen, tax evasion and so on. For instance, you see how somebody may steal like N30 billion, put it in small small accounts in over six banks in funny businesses. If you want to trace this, what are the modalities, the techniques you will employ in doing it. That is actually what the certification is all about. Though this offence is committed all over the world, it is prominent in Nigeria because that how most of our prominent politicians siphon money out of the country. With this kind of training, it easy to trace some of these funds, we have had some collaborations with the Ministry of Justice we have done some jobs for them and have been able to recover a lot of funds for Nigeria. The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice has done his best along that line, we have really recovered a lot of money for the country. We have also done very well with other anti corruption agencies. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), we collaborate with them and recover the stolen monies which have been invested in other businesses

    As a member of the Disciplinary Committee of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, what is actually the cause of the crises in the state?

    What is happening in Rivers State is politics. People have been feeding Nigerians lies that President Goodluck Jonathan is behind the crises and this is absolute lie, without foundation and highly vexatious. This is aRivers State local affair. The people in politics are playing the game of politics. Yes, I belong to the PDP, am a member of the party in Rivers State. We said that our state chairman of the party was cheated in the last elections and because of the injustice done to him, some of us, my humble self, the Minister of State for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, stood by them to reclaim their mandate to address the injustice and they have reclaimed their mandate.

    So, what is the cause of this hue and cry in the State?

    The problem that arose from this is that the other faction does not like what has happened. They believe that power has shifted and they now, because they have access to the press. They painted the problem as if the President is the one pushing us. But the truth is that this matter was in court and nobody said anything. It was after we won the case that the issue of President Jonathan came up. When the matter was in court, why didn’t somebody say that President Jonathan has helped us to go to court or is helping the other group to wrestle power from them? They were in court with us, everybody brought his case to court they thought that they would win, we also thought that we would equally win. At the end of the day, the court of law decided the matter amd gave judgement on the matter, they have appealed against the decision, so why should they now continue to mention Jonathan, Jonathan, it is because they don’t want Nigerians to know the truth of the matter.

    What is the truth about the crises which they don’t want Nigerians to know?

    The problem has to do with Obiakpor Local Government Area; after this judgment, the governor and members of the State House of Assembly connived and sacked constitutionally and duly elected officials, the chairman, the Vice-chairman, and the 17 councillors that they accused of committing fraud. The salient point in this whole matter is that there was nothing before the House in respect of this matter, there was no petition, there was no complaint, nothing whatsoever concerning the alleged fraud. The law states that there must be a petition before the House to that effect, you table the petition before the House, the House will set up a committee to go and investigate the allegations. Nothing like that was done in this case, somebody just came and said that there was an allegation of misappropriation of funds and you just sack the entire executives.

    What is the provision of the Local Government Law in Rivers State to this effect?

    This is the most worrisome part of it. There is a Local Government Law in Rivers State. The law provides that when the chairman, his deputy and councillors are suspended. That the head of personnel management will preside over the council affairs pending when the matter is resolved in court, but instead of complying with this law, the governor and the House went and appointed a caretaker committee which is against the Local Government Law and Nigerians are not talking, there is nothing wrong in this thing and they are crying that somebody is pursuing them, who is pursuing them, they did this because that is the Local Government of the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, they did this to spite him. So, how can anybody blame this on the President. It is a local affair. Go out there and see how people are rejoicing over the court judgment. Somebody was behaving like an emperor without recourse to the provisions of the law, but today, the court has intervened and given life back to the people.

    A section of Nigerians have criticised the President for declaring a state of emergency in the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa without first gazetting the instrument and requisite approval from the National Assembly. Others contend that the emergency ought to be total with the demolition of democratic structures in the affected states. What is your reaction to this?

    The state of emergency was late in coming because nobody will be happy when a whole part of his country is taken over by terrorists and made uninhabitable. Life no longer mean any thing to them, it does not really matter how many people that were killed in a day. I lived in Maiduguri for many years, I did my National Youth Service there, it was indeed a very peaceful town.

    I saw how the place was destroyed, how it was depopulated and eventually made to look like a war zone. The inhabitants of the affected states do not deserve that kind of treatment at all because they are very good people.

    We have all seen the results of the president’s action he was elected as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces to protect the lives of Nigerians. Though his action was late in coming, it is better late than never. He actually deserves the support of all Nigerians to restore peace and normalcy to the country. We have seen how about five Local Government Areas have been recovered from those people. You can equally see that the military, in performing their functions in the affected States have been very professional, nobody has accused of gross human rights violations and they are attacking the camps of the insurgents, they have shown high level of professionalism and we request them to continue like that so that rights of innocent Nigerians are severely trampled upon in the pursuit of the insurgents.

    What is your view on dismantling democratic structures in the affected states?

    The National Assembly has approved the state of emergency and whatever people are saying about it is inconsequential. If he had dismantled the democratic structures, people would say, why did he dismantle them. But he has allowed them to work hand in hand. He even said the emergency may not last more than six months so that life can return to normalcy in the affected states which we are all praying for. Those in the affected states need our support and prayers so that they can live a normal life.

     

     

  • Military assures Lagos residents of adequate security

    Military assures Lagos residents of adequate security

    The military authorities on Sunday assured Lagos residents of improved security in the city.

    The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) the Western Naval Command, Rear Adm. Ibok  Ibas, gave the assurance at the  regimental dinner of the Nigerian Air Force in Lagos.

    Ibas cited the recent aborted attempt by suspected Boko Haram members to simultaneously bomb 16 designated landmarks in Lagos as a clear indication of the military’s efforts to be on top of security challenges.

    Ibas, who was also the special guest of honour at the event, assured that the military would always be on alert to  prevent such occurrences.

    The regimental dinner was hosted by the Air Officer Commanding, Logistics Command, AVM. Aminu Adamu.

    Ibas noted that but for intelligence report gathered by security agencies, including the State Security Service,  the sect had attempted to plant terrorists cells in the South West with Lagos as its headquarters.

    He said the recent failed attempt to bomb Lagos was a sad reminder that evil men do not rest.

    “Evil men do not rest, so we must always be at an alert in protecting the territorial integrity of Nigeria.

    “True, Nigeria is faced with diverse challenges which challenges its autonomy.

    “Therefore, there is hardly an arm of the armed forces that is not contributing to this effort.

    “It is also glad to note that the armed forces and sister services are working together in inter-agency cooperation, information gathering and sharing.”

    Commending the efforts of officers and men of the force, he stressed that the Air Force was committed to ensuring that the activities of evil men were curtailed to the barest minimum.

    The highlight of the dinner was the ritual toast to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The lights were put off first before the toast in line with military tradition.

  • Be security conscious, pupils urged

    Security is usually discussed as it relates to gadgets and strategies people put in place to keep safe.

    However, what constitutes security and insecurity was redefined by Rev. D. K. Verralls at the Children’s Day Thanksgiving Service organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education on Sunday.

    The cleric in his sermon at the service held at the Chapel of Christ the Light, Alausa, told primary and secondary school pupils at the event that telling lies, having sexual relations, and keeping bad company could pose a security risk to them and their families. He added that being educated on its own is also a form of security.

    “Please do what is right at all times. You close by 4pm, please go straight home. If you do not tell your parents where you are going, you attract insecurity to yourselves. Some of you engage in casual sex. I hope you know it is part of insecurity. Education is a form of security. If people are not educated, they become a nuisance to the society,” he said.

    Rev. Verralls also challenged the pupils to change the society and not be influenced by what is wrong.

    The pupils also got admonition from the Head of Service, Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs Omolara Erogbogbo.

    Giving some words of wisdom, Ogunlewe urged the pupils to embrace hard work, honesty, and have regard for others.

    “You need to be very hard working to pass through primary and secondary schools. It is only with hard work you can meet the challenges of life,” he said.

    The service featured bible readings, one of which was taken by the Spelling Bee winner and One Day Governor-in-waiting, Boadely Juwon Afolarin, song renditions by the Lagos State School Chorale and the CMS Grammar School Choir, and a presentation by the Children’s Ministry of the church.

    The pupils also got devotionals, colour-in and story books courtesy of the Christ Embassy Church, Oregun.

     

  • ‘Social justice, a panacea for security’

    ‘Social justice, a panacea for security’

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Okey Wali (SAN) has said the society can only be secure if there is justice.

    Speaking at the NBA Gombe Branch Law Week programme, he said insecurity is stalling Nigeria’s development.

    Wali was represented by NBA Second Vice-President Mr Stephen Abar.

    He said: “The topic chosen by the Gombe Branch of the NBA for this year’s Law Week could not be more apt given the prevailing state of insecurity being experienced in most parts of Nigeria and particularly in the North – Eastern parts of the country.

    “The state of affairs has constituted a serious impediment to development and is even threatening to undermining the territorial integrity of the Nation.

    “The leadership of the NBA has demonstrated deep concern about this seemingly intractable situation which is not only undermining the sanctity of human life, but has also portrayed the security agencies as incapable of reining in the challenges posed by belligerent elements who are hell-bent on unleashing mayhem on innocent members of society and visiting untold hardship by engaging in systematic destruction of both private and public properties.

    “It was borne out of this deep concern for the deteriorating security situation in the country that the NBA, under her current leadership convoked a National Peace and Security Summit as a priority programme in January, 2013.

    “It is apposite to state that social justice cannot find expression in a system where the rule of law does not prevail. It is therefore trite that the two concepts are inseparable.

    “This explains why the NBA has remained consistent at the vanguard of advocacy for all strata of governance in the country to evolve and pursue policies and programmes that will entrench social justice. This is one of the surest ways to dousing discontent that inevitably results to insecurity.”