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Tag: security

  • Mark to FG: declare emergency on security

    Mark to FG: declare emergency on security

    Former Senate President, David Mark, on Tuesday, January 2, urged President Bola Tinubu-led administration to consider a review of the country’s security architecture to make it more proactive and strategic towards addressing challenges.

    Mark, according to a statement by his media adviser, Paul Mumeh, in Abuja, said there is an urgent need to declare an emergency on security.

    He added that a review would identify the loopholes and devise a means to end the bloodshed.

    He said the Plateau incidents in which scores of citizens were needlessly massacred should be a wake-up call that the security challenge needs urgent attention.

    Read Also: Mark mourns Akeredolu, Na’abba

    Mark said: “It will not be out of place to declare an emergency on security. Any step taken to end the continued killing of citizens will be worth the trouble.”

    He urged the government and security agencies to do more, saying that life has become so cheap in Nigeria today as if people have lost their humanity in them.

    The former two-term Senate President implored the government to collaborate with subnational governments in the task of ensuring peace and security in the country.

    He commiserated with the government and people of Plateau state just as he suggested that residents should be alert and cooperate with security operatives to prevent reoccurrence.

    He called for harmonious relationships between and among various ethnic and religious adherences in the country.

    Mark counseled against taking grievances to the extreme, pointing out that “there are legitimate channels to address grievances instead of resorting to self-help.

  • Welfare, security of Southern Kaduna my top priorities – Uba Sani

    Welfare, security of Southern Kaduna my top priorities – Uba Sani

    Kaduna state governor, Uba Sani has assured the people of Southern Kaduna that he is committed to pursuing their welfare and security among the topmost priorities of his administration.

    Governor Sani gave the assurance in Kafanchan, at the closing ceremony of the 3-day maiden Southern Kaduna Festival, charging the people to share thoughts during the maiden festival celebrations on developmental challenges facing the people and make further and better remmendations to the government for intervention.

    Governor Sani said: “Through this festival, l urge you to share thoughts on the developmental challenges facing the people of Southern Kaduna and make further and better recommendations to the government for intervention.”

    “Ours is a listening and people oriented administration. Your welfare and security are our top priorities. We have zero tolerance for discrimination, we shall take development to all nooks and crannies of the state. With your support and cooperation, we shall make Kaduna state a model for development and peaceful coexistence in Nigeria.”

    He noted that the festival is an opportunity for the people of the state  to connect with their roots and forge friendship and unite the people through shared experience, music, food and dance, saying that by so doing, the people of the state will foster a sense of community.

    He added: “Our diversity is a source of strength and we must harness it to develop our local economies. We are one people and must never allow conflict entrepreneurs to retard our progress and development. Our administration will not waiver in its commitment to rebuilding trust, addressing our Infrastructure and human capital deficits by bringing succour to the poor and vulnerable and bridging the gap between the rural and urban areas as well as empowering the youths and women.”

    Read Also: Joy as Kano gov reunites parents with their stolen children

    He assured that he has flagged-off rural drive through road constructions and electrification, stressing that the state government’s strategic discussions with critical stakeholders were on-going.

    “Security is top most in our agenda, we have strengthened our collaboration with the federal security agencies and enhance manpower of the Kaduna state vigilante service with the recruitment of additional 7,000 personnel in order to enhane security network in the state,” he explained.

    According to him, the present administration in Kaduna state wants to leave the state better than the way it met it, believing that the celebration of the festival was an indication that peace is fast returning to every nook and cranny of the state.

    Similarly, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa state, who was present at closing ceremony in Kafanchan said, “There is strength is our diversity. We should encourage those things that build us together rather than those things that divide us.”

    He added: “As people that have found ourselves in the geographical entity of Nigeria, we must give good leadership and l believed that the governor of Kaduna state has started giving good leadership to the people of the state and we can see that through the gathering of the people of Southern Kaduna.”

    He stressed that the occasion shows oneness and unity of the people of Southern Kaduna and enjoined to use their diversity as their strength in order to achieve great things for themselves and their children yet unborn.

  • E-CMR meant to boost national security, says Force PRO

    E-CMR meant to boost national security, says Force PRO

    The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has confirmed the implementation of the upgraded electronic Central Motor Registry (e-CMR).

    It said the e-CMR is an information system aimed at enhancing the safety and security of all Nigerians. 

    The NPF also said the initiative is a crucial step towards improving law enforcement capabilities and ensuring the well-being of citizens.

    A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), described CMR as a comprehensive system designed to streamline vehicle registration processes with a view to strengthening national security.

    The statement said: “Its full operationalisation would facilitate swift and efficient tracking of stolen vehicles, significantly increase the chances of recovery, lead to the maintenance of an accurate and up-to-date database of registered vehicles, which would aid the prevention and investigation of vehicle-related crimes, such as kidnapping and one-chance activities.

    “The system is also designed to make it impossible for stolen vehicles to be re-registered as an additional layer of security and discourages criminals from engaging in such activities.

    “To register for the e-CMR, individuals and corporate bodies can visit the official website at https://cmris.npf.gov.ng. The process is user-friendly, and all residents are urged to take advantage of the convenience it offers by completing the registration from the comfort of their homes.”

    Read Also: Rivers crisis: appreciate Tinubu for intervening  – Wike

    “While appreciating the cooperation of the public in this crucial initiative, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) emphasises that the NPF is committed to ensuring the welfare of the public, and the e-CMR and other applications designed by the police, like Rescue Me App and Police VGS, are vital tools in achieving this goal. 

    “The police acknowledge the concerns about e-CMR enforcement and assure that it would be done in the most professional manner with ample notice for registration by all individuals and corporate bodies. We urge all and sundry to spread awareness about e-CMR for a safer and more secured Nigeria.”

  • Stakeholders call for security, fittings on 2nd Niger Bridge

    Stakeholders call for security, fittings on 2nd Niger Bridge

    A year after construction giant Julius Berger delivered the 1.6 kilometre   Second Niger Bridge to former president Muhammadu Buhari,  stakeholders have urged the government to complete the bridge and provide security architecture for it.

      The bridge, which connects Asaba with Ogbaru, in Anambra State,                                                               incidentally, is named after the former president perhaps for his feat in delivering the bridge after almost six decades of foot-dragging by successive administrations.

     But stakeholders are criticising the “non-completion of the bridge”.

    It would be recalled that the former president opened the bridge via Zoom in May, this year, which governors of the southeast region had named after him.

    A commercial driver whose route is Ohafia, Abia State to Lagos, Ukpai Chimezie, said daily he and his colleagues are exposed to attacks on the bridge as a result of the absence of road furniture such as road shoulders, street lights and even conveniences.

    He cited his colleague, whose vehicle broke down on the bridge about 8pm on a particular day and escaped by whiskers with his passengers when hoodlums attacked them.

    He called on the government to put in place security  to protect travellers and frowned at the money drivers were made to pay to some people in uniform on the tip of the bridge from Obosi-Asaba end of the bridge.

    According to him, immediately it is 6.30pm they would leave their positions and allow travellers to suffer any eventuality from hoodlums.

    “I believe the much-celebrated completion of the Second Niger has some political undertones, if not the former president would not have found it necessary or important to inaugurate an uncompleted project,” he added.

    He lamented the prevalence of non-state actors who harass innocent passengers on the bridge and wondered why the Minister of Works Dave Umahi agreed to accept the bridge as completed.

     Another driver, Okon Ekpenyong, who plies the Uyo, Akwa Ibom State road  weekly also wondered why the bridge is branded as completed when the most important things were left undone.

    Also, Onwuka Udeagbala, an engineer, wondered why the minister of Works accepted the bridge as completed when  he should know the right thing to do.

    Read Also: Why Lagos Free Zone attracts American investors – US Consul General

    He said: “Daily, we have reports of travellers attacked on the bridge because their vehicles broke down or outsmarted by street urchins on the bridge. It is sad that the long-awaited bridge came in halves, dashing the hope of many, especially those from the Southeast and Southsouth.

     “If you notice the hand railings are removed on daily basis, one should have thought that the contractor and the Federal Government would have used a material that cannot be easily traded off by criminals such as prefabricated concrete to what was used which is usually a soft target for thieves and criminally minded individuals”.

    “If you drive on that bridge, you can count the number of lorries and other articulated vehicles on it. The public will expect the government to do the right thing by protecting public infrastructure and ensuring maintenance of same he stated”.

    The Bridge was constructed under the Presidential Infrastructure Fund (PIF).

  • Research key to security, says ex-VC

    Research key to security, says ex-VC

    The immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos(UNILAG), Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has stressed the need to drive for internal security to boost economic development, ensure safety of investment, and protect welfare of citizens and resources.

     Ogundipe spoke in Ikeja, Lagos while delivering the keynote speech at the 2023 summit of the Education Writers Association of Nigeria (EWAN).

     The summit had as theme: “Research for national development: Nigeria’s internal security in focus”.

     He noted that internal insecurity leads to stunted economic growth, which negatively affects social cohesion and unity, infrastructural development and human capital development.

     “Nigeria has been contending with internal security in various forms since independence. Internal insecurity leads to stunted economic growth, which negatively affects social cohesion and unity.

     “Foreign relations and diplomacy is badly affected too. Foreign Direct Investment is hampered because insecurity that does not go away keeps foreign investors away. The ways that internal insecurity has hampered our national development are many, but i know that research, science and innovation can play pivotal roles to enhancing internal security,” he said.

     Ogundipe called for the deployment of drones, CCTV cameras to monitor situations, adding that with cyber threats, some universities can be asked  to set up centres that would curb cyber crimes and threats.

     Vice Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education Tolani Ali-Balogun, who was represented by Director Education Resource Centre, Akinlade Omolayo and the Chairperson, Nigeria Labour Congress, Lagos State Chapter, Funmilayo Sessi asserted  that security is a collective responsibility and EWAN is frontrunner with proactive discussions and solutions towards the country’s  security.

    Read Also: Yuletide: Don’t think of vacation this season, we’ve burden of Nigerians on our shoulders, Shettima tells NEC

    Earlier, EWAN Chairman,  Mojeed Alabi, said the summit was avenue for researchers, policy makers and academia to brainstorm on the way forward with focus on national development and internal security.

    He  pledged the readiness of EWAN to continually contribute to the development of Nigeria.

    There three sessions at the summit.The first was  moderated by veteran broadcaster, Mrs Bimbo, with  representatives of the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC and the Nigeria Security Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, on the panel that discussed Ogundipe’s paper.

    The second session with the theme,”Financial security and future of banking in Nigeria, what needs from researchers,” was sponsored by UBA Plc.

    The third session had as theme: “Food security, health safety and environmental sustainability: What nexus? Researchers’ perspectives”, had Prof. Taibat Olaitan Lawanson presenting on paper on urban and regional planning.

  • House panel tasks NASENI on security, agric research 

    House panel tasks NASENI on security, agric research 

    The House of Representatives Committee on National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has tasked the agency on enhancing security, agriculture and infrastructure to improve forex earnings. 

    The Committee Chairman, Hon.Taofik Ajilesoro made the call at the inauguration of the committee at the National Assembly Complex.

    “As a matter of fact, the committee vigorously enjoin the agency to do more in their research into defense/security sector, agricultural sector and infrastructural sector.

     “This in turn would save and bring in the much needed foreign earnings that will impact positively on the socio-economic development of our nation,” he said. 

    Read Also; Sanwo-Olu promises medical palliatives to residents

    Ajilesoro pledged that the committee will do all it takes to reposition the agency to achieve its mandate. 

    He said that the committee is solely responsible to oversight the activities of NASENI saying that the committee shall not shy away from this constitutional responsibility. 

    The chairman said that the committee will employ all necessary legislative instrument readily available to reposition the agency for optimal, efficiency and effectiveness, towards achieving its set goals.

    “We must have used our legislative powers as a committee and parliament to expand, deepen and creating an enduring path for a sustainable technological advanced industrial hub within the comity of Nations. 

    “Indeed with our wealth of experience in our various areas of endeavor, this is do-able and achievable,” he said.

  • Bureau trains security personnel in handling guests 

    Bureau trains security personnel in handling guests 

    Cross River State Tourism Bureau, in an effort to ensure proper handling of guests by security personnel, yesterday trained military and paramilitary personnel to better serve tourists during the Christmas festival/carnival 2023.

    The Managing Director, Cross River State Tourism Bureau, Prince Ojoi Ekpenyong, said the security personnel expected to undergo the training included those from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Civil Defence, VIO, Road Safety, Immigrations, Customs and even private security services. 

    He said: ”The essence of this training is to return Cross River State to that world-class destination. Security men are our first gatekeepers, they’re the one who interact with our visitors, so we are here to let them know that they must welcome our visitors with a smile. They must do their jobs with love and professionalism.

    “The training is aimed at promoting a police friendly environment in Cross River. Whether you like it or not, when the police and other agencies solve the problem on the road with love, more people will come to Cross River State.” 

    Read Also: UHC Day: Tinubu unveils plan for massive investments in health sector

    Launching the one-day training, House of Assembly Speaker Elvert Ayambem hailed Ekpenyong for taking steps to train security personnel as part of the modernisation of the tourism industry.

    “Most of the countries people travel to, they don’t even have what we have in Cross River State. I’m thanking the governor for rejigging the tourism of Cross River State.”

    Giving the overview of the training, Vice President, Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), Justina Ovat, said the training would inculcate the spirit of hospitality and excellent service to drive exceptional guest experience during Calabar Carnival. 

  • Security agencies’ unsightly scuffles

    Security agencies’ unsightly scuffles

    • By Ike Willie-Nwobu

    Sir: Every now and then, Nigeria’s chaotic and class struggles slip into the ranks of its security agencies with deadly consequences. 

    The latest theatre of unsightly power play came at the Benin Specialist Hospital where a patient brought in by some DSS officials was supposedly not promptly treated, which caused the officials to attack some persons within the hospital, including policemen and other members of different Nigerian paramilitary agencies.

    The hospital was to offer a different version of events, claiming that the DSS personnel was brought in dead but that his colleague refused to accept it.

    It was not the first time such an ugly melee has broken out between men of sister security agencies in Nigeria and given Nigeria’s poor track record in that wise, it won’t be the last.

    Godwin Emefiele, the former Central Bank Governor has become a constant visitor to Nigerian security agencies since he left office. In July, an unsightly melee broke out between men of the DSS and officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service over who should take him into custody following the order of a Federal High Court siting in Abuja.

    In November, a police man and a soldier each died as the soldiers and police clashed in the state, with several officers left injured. In November, following the arrest and detention of some of its personnel on allegations of cybercrime, there was a scary confrontation between men of the Nigeria Air Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Kaduna.

    In February, a police corporal stabbed a soldier to death in Lagos during a fight. Soldiers supposedly reprised by torching a police station.

    In November, two soldiers and some police men fought over alleged traffic violations in Ikole Ekiti, Ekiti State. The same situation was on show in January in Lagos.

    Instances abound of occasions when those supposed to synergize to keep Nigerians safe chose the undignifying sport of insane and inane power tussles.

    The one that readily comes to mind is poor discipline. It is an open secret that many of the men who man Nigeria’s security agencies lack discipline. This lack of discipline when wrapped in uniform has become especially pronounced and prominent in recent times.

    There is also a sense in which profound frustration courses through Nigeria’s security forces. This is no surprise, given that being a security personnel in Nigeria in the past eight years has become akin to signing a death warrant.

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu donates 300 vehicles to security agencies

    In what can only be ill-fittingly described as a pressure cooker, those who have elected to serve as security personnel in Nigeria have seen it all.

    Many of them have fallen in service of an increasingly fragile country. Many of them who have paid the ultimate price in the service of their country have seen their families abandoned upon their death.

     For Nigerians who always have to look over their shoulders because they have increasingly become the fascination of terrorists, it is a matter of sickening embarrassment that security personnel who should be securing them favour fisticuffs and handbags as pastimes. No matter the aggravation, sister security agencies should always be able to work together to contain Nigeria’s surging insecurity.

    Interagency rivalry and petty scuffles only serve to cause public loss of confidence in the security agents, betraying them as unserious. At a time when Nigeria is battling on multiple security fronts, this is serious baggage to carry around.

    Security personnel in Nigeria should be seen to be pointing their guns threateningly at the criminals determined to overrun Nigeria, and never at each other. The times are too strange for strange habits.

    Those who enforce the law in Nigeria and maintain law and order just be seen to pay nothing but absolute obedience to the law. This invariably includes shunning all acts that are capable of disrupting public peace and order.

    • Ike Willie-Nwobu,

    Ikewilly9@gmail.com

  • Security expert urges Presidency to work with professionals outside party

    Security expert urges Presidency to work with professionals outside party

    Security expert, Jim-Oscar Osemeka has urged the Presidency to work with Nigerian professionals outside its party to ensure the implementation of its Renewed Hope Agenda.

    The Foreign Service National Investigator (FSNI) for the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Office of the Legal Attaché advised the government to look into how it selects people to work with by ensuring they are experts in the said field.

    He said the Presidency needs to work with people that understand how the country is ran from the Nigerian and International perspectives.

    Read Also: Helping service chiefs to surmount insecurity 

    Osemeka said this in Abuja after being conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Public Administration (Honoris Causa) by the International Leadership Manpower and Management Development (ILMMD), United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

    The ILMMD recognises exceptional individuals with remarkable contributions to Nigeria and the International society and Osemeka a former staff of the Department of State Services (DSS) was awarded Distinguished Fellow Award (Platinum Category).

    He said the government needs to balance nationality with internationality and that is what this award stands for.

  • Poor security, tragic murder

    Poor security, tragic murder

    Tragically, the man died. He was fatally shot by unidentified armed robbers in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The victim, Taiwo Oyekanmi, was the Director of Finance and Accounts in the office of Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Abiodun Alamutu, said Oyekanmi was in “a homemade bullion van” with a driver and one other person, and they were returning to their office from a Fidelity Bank branch where they had gone to withdraw money when the armed robbery happened on November 29. “They were supposed to have a police escort, but for certain reasons, the person (policeman) was permitted to travel to attend to some issues,” he stated.

    According to another version, the mobile police officer, Inspector Rasheed Adegbite, who was supposed to be with the bullion van, had travelled to Igbo-Ora in Oyo State the previous day, without permission. The police said he has been arrested for investigation.

    The police boss said the armed robbers’ vehicle had blocked the bullion van, and “five occupants of the vehicle came down, shot at the director and from their vehicle, they brought out a sledgehammer to force the receptacle where the money was kept open and they left with the money.”

    Oyekanmi, the only fatality, was said to have withdrawn N97.335m from Fidelity Bank and N15m from Sterling Bank. The bullion van was said to be carrying N112.335m at the time of the attack.

    Read Also: FG budget N200 billion for military operation, poverty reduction

    Alamutu said: “It was an in-house (thing). We have this feeling because, how did they know that they would need a hammer to break the receptacle?” He also said “they must have had information that he was going to take a large amount of money from the bank.”

    The armed robbery exposed poor security arrangements. It is curious that the absent police escort was not replaced by another guard, and those in the bullion van were without protection.

    Apart from this, it is puzzling that there was only one guard attached to the bullion van, who happened to be unavailable on the day. If he was available, or if someone else had replaced him, would one guard have been able to protect the occupants of the bullion van from the said five attackers? 

    Such an approach to security is not only questionable but also condemnable. It should be reviewed. Also, the state government and the police must ensure that the armed robbers who killed Oyekanmi do not get away with armed robbery and murder.