The gradual return of the military

Peoples Daily      Saturday, 08 October 2011

The Journey from Kaduna to Abuja, a distance of not more than 200 kilometres, used to last no more than two hours, sometimes much less, if in one of the state-of-the-art vehicles that have become the choice rides of the few fabulously affluent ones in our midst. Nowadays however, short of taking to the skies, it would be a miracle if one were able to accomplish the journey in under three hours. This is because the soldiers have taken over the responsibility of the police along the highways and even city streets with so many checkpoints, often resulting in irritatingly considerable delays to the road users.
And in the cities, the story is no different, as the soldiers have also taken over some mundane responsibilities hitherto performed by the police. These include guarding public and even private buildings like banks, parks and residences of the high and mighty in the society.
The development has become a source of worry for many, including some of the big people, that it has become an open topic of discussion especially among the affected stakeholders, writes Augustine Aminu

As one senior military officer puts it, "There are literally no soldiers in the barracks," Nigeria is presently witnessing the biggest military deployment in peacetime as soldiers are called upon to take over the role of maintaining internal security from the police, especially in areas where civil strife and violent crimes at times spiral out of control.
There is an unprecedented deployment of troops in not less than 10 states to contain sectarian violence in the North, militancy in the Niger Delta and kidnappings in the Southeast. From every indication, this deployment is the biggest since the Civil War in 1967-70.
The military is taking over the responsibility of maintaining internal security from the police. In some of the states where they have been deployed, the soldiers handle even mundane cases like matrimonial quarrels and lovers misunderstandings.
As many have agreed, it is the responsibility of the military to assist the police and other agencies in keeping peace should the civil authorities ask them to do so. But it is obvious that the government is losing faith in the police as a security outfit capable of maintaining peace and order.
Even some Nigerians seem to share in this. A resident of Suleja, Ahmed Yerima told Peoples Daily Weekend that he had more faith in the abilities of the military. "They have helped because the police are not doing anything", he said. "People respect the army more than the Police", he added.
At the moment, checks by People Daily Weekend reveals that troops are permanently deployed in Borno, Kaduna, Plateau, Bauchi and on the borders between Benue and Nasarawa and between Benue and Taraba states to contain religious and/or ethnic violence.
In Nasarawa state, soldiers have become a common sight on the streets of Lafia and other urban centres in the state. They are drawn from the 177 Brigade in Keffi, and they drive in open Toyota Hilux vans, with heavy arms mounted on top.
The same scenario plays out in Kaduna, Maiduguri, Bauchi and Plateau States where soldiers have taken over security duties in the state.
In Benue State, Operation Zenda, which was established by Governor Gabriel Suswam during his early days in office in 2007, has virtually taken over all security duties in the state. The operation is manned by soldiers from 72 Paratroopers Battalion and the Tactical Air Command (TAC) headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), as well as some policemen. During riots and peaceful protests, they are seen providing security. During communal strife, they are drafted to play complementary roles.
Former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, believes, "The dismembering resulted in the proliferation of other bodies to perform police functions, thus weakening the force."
He also asserted that "recruitment and training have been compromised as a result of conditions of service which do not attract the right material and those with the right qualifications do not apply to join the force".
But beside these allegations, experts believe that poor remuneration and equipment over the past years have affected the effectiveness of the police to maintain peace. Fund allocated to the police is very low compared to what obtains in other countries where security of lives and property are guaranteed. Over the years, the Nigerian police have been turned into 'a rag tag militia' as one commentator puts it.
The implication of this, according to a security expert, Okechukwu Samuel, is that the military will be saddled with civilian problems, which is not part of their responsibilities. According to him, it is the duty of the police to interact more with the civilians that is why we have the mobile police unit who are supposed to go out in case of escalation of crisis. Under normal circumstances, it is supposed to be the duty of either the regular police force or the mobile police in striking the escalation of crisis. This deployment of military to handle internal security indicates that we have more internal crisis than external threats and internal threats are supposed to be handled by the police. There is therefore the need for the country to expand its police force in terms of quality and quantity.
A former military governor of Kaduna state, retired Colonel Dangiwa Umar also agreed with this verdict but also added that it could affect the professionalism of the military. He told a national daily; "When the military is out of the barracks doing police duty, of course, they will resemble the police and making the soldiers to do police work will affect their professionalism and even their discipline. The deployment of military for control of internal crisis can affect the military whenever the need of defending the country arises. They may not be able to handle the situation because the deployment can affect their competence when it comes to war situation."
In one of such scenarios where the soldiers had the rare opportunity to show their understandings of dealing with the civililan public, it turned out that they are yet to get accustomed to life outside the barracks. Peoples Daily Weekend's photojournalist ran out of luck when he attempted to take a snap shot of soldiers on duty at NNPC headquarters in Abuja. A police officer who arrested him said, "What are you doing my friend? So, it's you they send this time to come and monitor this place so that they can come and bomb it abi? The photojournalist hurriedly replied that, "Officer no. I am just taking photo"
Before the journalist could identify himself, he was striped naked. It took the intervention of an officer who happened to be from the same part of the country with the photo journalist before he was allowed to go. However, he was later allowed to take the photo.
Benue
The withdrawal of police officers and their substitution with military officers at checkpoints is a source of concern to Benue people who noted that the action is usurpation of the duty of the police.
Commenting on the issue, former Nigerian Bar Association Chairman, Makurdi branch Barr. Donatus Dzunah frowned at the development, contending that soldiers lack the capacity to be at the checkpoints.
He added that soldiers are brutal and lack civility to Mann the checkpoints.
Dzunah said the military have a clear mandate to promote the sovereignty of the nation against external forces and not to be confined to checkpoints, maintaining that all they do there is to harass innocent citizens.
"Even at the checkpoints they do not properly check vehicles to know what they are carrying. They do not dictate anything. If they do, then there would be minimal rate of insecurity occasioned by Boko haram bombings and the influx of foreigners in the country. Their presences at the checkpoints create a hostile situation. We are not in a war situation", he said.
In his view, former Lagos State commissioner of Police Alh. Abubakar Tsav described the situation as unfortunate, maintaining that it shows lack of confidence in the Police by the Federal government.
He urged government to adequately equip the police to carry out their traditional duty rather than send soldiers at checkpoints to molest motorists.
A retired police officer John Ogenyi collaborated the views of Dzunah and Tsav and urged the Federal government to withdraw soldiers from the checkpoints.
"In this country things are done differently. What business does a soldier have at the checkpoints? In civilized nation, it is the policemen that man the checkpoints. The presence of soldiers causes chaos. There are more serious security challenges that soldiers should handle. This is misplaced priority, he frowned.
KADUNA
In Kaduna state, the scenario is no different. All the roads and routes leading to and from Kaduna, and other major towns in the state are now under the total control of military personnel, who have mounted several roadblocks on every nook and cranny of the state.
Presently, the ever-busy Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, the official quarters of the Governor Mr. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa is under twenty-four hours surveillance and control of the military, which hitherto was not the case.
Since the post-election violence and subsequent skirmishes that engulfed the state, leading to the killing of several people, and rendering others homeless, the government has not found it easy in maintaining peace in the state.
An academician and public affairs commentator, Malam Abubakar DanAsabe told Peoples Daily Wweekend that the number of check points in the state could only be compared to what is obtainable in war torn countries like Iraq.
He said, "to make reference to the security it is very obvious that the number of check points that I see within the town and outside the town, can be compared to the type of checkpoints and security outpost that you see in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and other war torn countries, where security has collapsed.
He went further to say "without giving any statistics or data, I can tell you, security system is the problem in this country. It is such a great dis-service to a country where by to celebrate independence day, a day that everyone should be happy, it has turned out to be that bad, whereby the celebration is being done in a hidden environment where nobody can tell. May be in Aso Rock, even those leading us are afraid of coming out to the public to celebrate Nigeria's independence. So how much of a poor man that walks on the street. So as far as the security is concerned and as far as I am concerned it is a sorry state".
Presently, the Police have abandoned their statutory responsibility of ensuring safety of lives and property to the Military personnel in Kaduna, with various cries of extra-judicial killings, which the police can neither dispute nor confirm. The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Aminu Lawan told Peoples Daily Weekend that he could not say whether the military abuse the rights of citizens or not. The military on their part refuse to answer question of human rights violations even as the citizens always complain about such abuses.
Maiduguri
Maiduguri, the Borno state capital witnessed the first military deployment in 2009 when armed robbery became rampant in various parts of the state, causing sleepless nights to the residents and motorists plying the major highways. Following the increasing insecurity posed by the activities of the men of the underworld which had seemingly defied police capability.
At that time, there was hardly a day without reports of armed robbers waylaying motorists or raiding several houses. Apparently piqued by the situation, the administration of the then Governor Ali Modu Sheriff had called upon soldiers to join police in the role of maintaining internal security so as to address the robbery cases.
In a bid to ensure effective coordination and success in the fight against banditry, Governor Sheriff had then inaugurated a joint special security outfit comprising police and soldiers tagged 'Operation Flush' who were mandated to embark on a joint patrol within the state capital and all major highways spread across the 27 local government areas. As parts of government determination to ensure that fruitful result was achieved, government had provided several logistics to the team comprising of 100 Toyota Hilux patrol vans, communication gadgets, bullet proof vests and allowances for each and every member of the outfit.
The inaugurating of the task force had witnessed massive support from the general public, who had believed that the rising spate of robberies can only be tackled with involvement of the military and that this assertion became reality as the task force had immediately swung into action and within six months of the commencement of its operation, armed robbery had gradually declined drastically and till today, robbery cases became very minimal instead of the hitherto daily occurrence, sometimes residents can stayed as long as three months without a single incident.
However, the state witnessed a second military deployment, which is the biggest milirty operation ever witnessed in the state. The new was targeted at maintaining internal security since last year, following the renewed violence campaigns perpetrated by members of Boko Haram sect. Contrary to the initial system when soldiers attached to the Operation Flush were drawn from the three military formations in the state, the Federal Government has set up a new Military Joint Task Force (JTF) tagged 'Operation Restore Hope' which attracted soldiers from various formations across the country, comprising navy and air force.
The new operation only have very minimal participation of riot policemen compared to the task force set up by the state government. it is now a fact that military had taken over the internal security of the entire state as the regular policemen have now concentrated on self defence, just guarding their barracks and other formations against impending attack by Boko Haram gunmen.
Soldiers have become a common sight on the streets of Maiduguri as there is still unprecedented deployment of troops there to address the violence. It is now usual to see arm wielding soldier as they drive in an open patrol vehicles, with heavy arms mounted on top. It will be very difficult to assess the actual figures of soldiers presently sent to tackle Boko -Haram related violence in the state because as more are still being deployed. A security sources however, told Peoples Daily Weekend that "the number of the soldiers currently serving in the state were enough to capture the entire people." Four combat helicopters, over 300 patrol vans and 20 armoured tanks were operated by the soldiers.
An army officer who also prefers not to be named said, "soldiers are now patrolling major highways and streets of Maiduguri and environs on the request of state the governor to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency."
When asked how many soldiers are out there trying to curb the persistent insecurity, he said, "I don't have the numbers, but the deployment is massive." Commenting on the same issue, another officer said the total number of troops sent to quell the Boko Haram insurgency in Maiduguri, could equal a military division, saying even the troops presently deployed in the volatile Jos, where the lingering ethno-religious unrest defied all possible remedies., were not up to the ones in Maiduguri.
When asked whether such deployment of troops away from military duties could have negative impact, the officer said: It won't affect discipline, moral or the actual military job, as it is the constitutional responsibility of the military to assist the police and other agencies in keeping peace should the civil authorities ask them to do so.
"Our morale is high; there is no problem in stationing soldiers in any places to maintain security there. In fact all soldiers have studied Section 217 of the Constitution which gave the military the powers to handle internal security matters based on directives from authorities," he said.
A police officer told our correspondent on condition of anonymity that the participation of soldiers in internal security management does not undermine police responsibility, rather all security threats with adverse effect on the integrity of the country require collective efforts to tackle. He said the police were not lacking the ability to handle crisis or relaxed but the military were constitutionally allowed to partake in security management.
Also commenting on the implication of soldiers taking over responsibilities of police, a public affairs analyst, Mr. James Sunny noted that it was unjustifiable if the military will be saddled with civilian problems, which is not part of their responsibilities. "It is the duty of the police to interact more with the civilians that is why we have the mobile police unit who are supposed to go out in case of escalation of crisis", he said.
Speaking further, he said, "Under normal circumstances, it is supposed to be the duty of either the regular police force or the mobile police in curtailing the escalation of the crisis. This deployment of military to handle internal security indicates that we have more internal crisis than external threats and internal threats are supposed to be handled by the police. There is therefore the need for the country to expand its police force in terms of quality and quantity.
Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of the spokespersons of the Military and the Police were not successful. Several phone calls and SMS messages to the Airtel line of the Military spokesman, Brigadier-General Rapheal Isa were neither answered nor replied. Similar result obtained as many phone calls and text messages to the MTN and Glo lines of the Police Public Relations Officer, DCP Olu Amore remained unanswered up to the time of going to press.

With additional reports from Lawal Saddiq Sanusi, Kaduna, Uche Nnorom, Makurdi and Mustapha Isa Kwaru, Maiduguri.

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