Nigerian Security Services And The Fight Against Terrorism

 By Shagari Sumner Sambo                      Newsdiaryonline  Fri Sep 2,2011

 
NSA:Gen Owoye Azazi (retired)

With the ubiquitous bomb blasts and terrorist activities hunting Nigeria today, most Nigerians are of the opinion that the security services have failed the nation despite huge yearly budgetary expenditures in the name of “security votes.” But despite these perceived failures in performance, many citizens continue to plead for support and encouragement of the government and its security agencies. But, how do we encourage security agencies who refuse to use intelligence information sent to them by citizens or fail to coordinate intelligence information from various security outfits and government agencies?

Recently, a fellow gave a sensitive information to a policeman on some suspicious activities within his workplace but the policeman waved it aside that even if he tells his boss, the officer will not trust his information or may accuse him of belonging to Boko Haram. Now, how do we encourage the government or security services when a junior policeman does not have confidence in his superior officer, vice-versa.

A recent report by the Associated Press, AP quotes a top Nigerian security official, who begged to remain anonymous because he was not authorized by his superiors to speak, as saying that the security services earlier arrested and later released Mamman Nur, the wanted mastermind behind the August 26 UN House bombing, and other terrorists who were caught with bombs, guns and lots of cash in 2007.

“They were caught with explosive devices and other ammunitions. Some of them were also caught with large amounts of cash,” the Nigerian official told AP.

Additional information has it that some of those arrested then were said to have been planning to carry out attacks in the United States and on American interests in Nigeria while investigations also revealed within the same period that the arrested men had ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Al-Shabab, the infamous Somali terrorist organization.

But as usual, the arrested men could not be prosecuted for political reasons. The Nigerian security official disclosed to the AP that top security officials in the administration of the late President Umar Yar’Adua ordered their release without prosecution.

“Top security officials in the administration of then President Umaru Yar’Adua, a Muslim, released the rounded-up men shortly after their arrests, with some facing a few hasty sham trials,” the Nigerian security official, who spoke to AP, said.

With these revelation, it is now apparent that the rampant failure of our security agencies to curb the insecurity in Nigeria is due to the unhealthy synergy between heads of our security agencies and politicians who will do anything, including bastardizing our national security, just to win elections.

Election over. A painful scenario prevalent among our security services is that there is little inter-agency co-operation or interface among themselves, regardless of what they may want members of the public to believe. If not, how could the State Security Services, SSS get information (as it claimed in a press release) on the alleged plot to bomb the United Nations House in Abuja without sharing it with the police and the army so that (if possible and on a lighter note) a battalion could be deployed to the UN House to heighten security or block both entry and exit points into the building during the unholy hours of the blast?

Also, why didn’t the SSS share the information with UN Security so as to raise a terrorism alert among UN staff if it had that prior intelligence? Did the National Security Adviser, NSA, General Andrew Azazi (rtd) know about the alleged plot to bomb the UN House before the blast? If not, why didn't the SSS inform him? From the above, it is obvious that all our security agencies are only focused on being individual winners rather than collective winners as a team in the fight against terrorists and unwholesome groups.  It seems to observers now that our security system is gradually being focused more on protecting Mr President to the detriment of the people the president is elected to protect. As long as Mr President is fine, nothing else matters!

Due to the escalation of terrorist attacks in recent times, especially within the ‘heavily fortified’ city of Abuja, the seat of government and enclave of the Nigerian president; there have been insinuations that Aliyu Gusau, former National Security Adviser during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and even under President Goodluck Jonathan is being drafted by certain interest groups including some foreign powers to be returned to his old post. The strategy here is that these interest groups feel that the former NSA was a much more strong-willed personality who was able to contain anti-social elements and budding terrorist groups during his tenure, with little incidents of extremism or terrorism as prevalent today.

If true, this strategy is already dead-on-arrival as we say in journalism parlance, for it is under this same personality that these groups incubated and were left to blossom without being uprooted. The same Gusau contested against his principal in the race to get the Peoples Democratic Party presidential ticket despite knowing that President Jonathan will contest. Therefore, it will be out of place to handover the nation’s security apparatus to a politician despite his former enviable intelligence credentials.

If Nigeria is to get out of these chaotic security challenges bedeviling her at this period of our nationhood, the security agencies under the supervision of the NSA must be proactive in the areas of intelligence gathering, sharing and implementation. The National Security Adviser must therefore be in the vanguard for a new approach to counter terrorism in Nigeria, starting with the intelligent usage of every available tips of public information; infiltration of bars, communities, cabs, religious groups etc with more intelligence operatives and the strengthening of the Counter Terrorism Unit domiciled in his office.

A growing trend that must also be checked by the NSA is the allegation that some of the nation’s security agents seem to have been compromised either ideologically or financially by those fighting against the stability of our country. In fact, some former intelligence officials believe that our security agencies have been infiltrated by the dreaded Boko Haram.

One intelligence source confirmed this assertion last week in an interview with a national daily. The source said “Just as the intelligence agencies have penetrated the Boko Haram sect, the group has equally moved into the ranks of the agencies, because they quickly adjust their strategy almost as simultaneous as we plan against them.”

The NSA must therefore move fast to rid the security services of all these compromised elements who are consistently disclosing counter-terrorism strategies to their paymasters.

There should also be the formation of an inter-agency cooperation mechanism to help retrieve and analyze information coming in from all security operatives including para-military agencies especially Customs and Immigration Services who have most times been neglected by the core security agencies.

Apart from equipping security agents with modern gadgets, the NSA must also focus on curtailing inter-border crimes, influx of unregistered or not properly documented foreigners into the country and the relationship between religious sects and foreign donors. This will help to curb the links that groups like Boko Haram have with foreign elements like Al Shabab of Somalia, Al Qaeda in the Maghreb(AQIM) and others.

Now to President Goodluck Jonathan, THIS IS NO TIME TO SACK THE NSA OR ANYBODY....that will be playing to the gallery and making the terrorists to laugh in their cocoons. President Jonathan should hold on for now by only giving Azazi one target to see if he can achieve it or not. That target is: “I do not want any bomb blast in the country within the next 12 weeks, in the first instance.”

What can we do as citizens?

As citizens, it is also our responsibility to still share information with security agents despite their prevailing ineptitude and lack of coordination. At least, security agents are now even afraid for their lives and unlike before are now willing to receive scoops that may help save them or their colleagues who are often on the frontline of fire as evident in the last bomb blasts at the Police headquarters in June 16 and the October 1 blast all in Abuja. For example, when you see a visitor spend much time in your office public convenience (toilet), inform your security or someone, as he could be fixing something harmful there.

At home, ensure you watch new neighbours or religious zealots. Also, change the position you constantly park your cars at the office premise. Your car could be used as a mule where a device is planted into it at home for it to be remotely detonated just when you park it at the office.

Also, do not receive free services or extremely cheap labour from people who are unknown to you in your office or at home, they may be agents of terrorism or informants.

Next Level of Terrorism

Our security services should not think that Boko Haram or any other terrorist groups will attack through car bombs again. They will definitely change their strategy so as to catch our security operatives unawares. We should focus now on preventing suicide bombers who have bombs strapped all over their bodies with intents to detonate them in populated places like bus stops,  markets or by hugging politicians.

Also, the NSA and other top security chiefs should start planning ahead on how to curb attacks that may come in the form of bio-chemical attacks like the use of Anthrax or Sarin Gas in offices or populated places. It happened in the United States and Japan, it can also happen here. The terrorists may want to provoke the government in that huge magnitude so as to get their message across while same time putting extreme fear among government officials or to demand that Mr. President or top government officials resign.

Finally, a solution to the escalating problems of these arms insurrection and terrorism against the state lies in dialoguing with these groups (Boko Haram, MEND, MASSOB etc) rather than preparing to fight a guerrilla warfare with any of them. They really have nothing to lose.......not even their lives, for they do not really care! Though the deployment of soldiers on the streets of Abuja and other cities is helpful in the interim, it will not succeed in the long run.

Therefore, the Nigerian government must address the multitude of injustices that are motivating these people to willingly commit these heinous crimes against their own people because even after all the above and other security strategies are put in place, DIALOGUE IS INEVITABLE. Selah!

Shagari Sumner Sambo is an Abuja based journalist who also edits a news blog on Facebook, NEWSMAN by Shagari Sumner Sambo. He can be contacted via: shagarisambo@gmail.com

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