Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Former IGP Arase laments rise in crime over security agencies’ rivalries

By Michael Egbejule, Benin City.
08 September 2018   |   3:35 am
Former Inspector General of Police, Dr. Solomon Arase, has attributed the failure of security agencies in the country to adequately combat crimes and criminalities to excessive overlapping of functions and rivalries among security agencies, which he described as worrisome.

Former Inspector General of Police, Dr. Solomon Arase, has attributed the failure of security agencies in the country to adequately combat crimes and criminalities to excessive overlapping of functions and rivalries among security agencies, which he described as worrisome. Delivering a lecture with the theme “Strategic Partnership for National Security: Extending the Frontiers of Private Sector Participation Model to mark the 84th birthday anniversary of Chief Gabriel Igbinedion at the Igbinedion University, Okada, Arase noted that security agencies can only perform effectively in tackling the menace of crimes and criminality in the country if they collectively work together as one fighting a common course. He said that crimes and other social vices can only be fought when security agencies depend on one another for information, that could lead to the nipping of crimes in the bud thereby providing an effective service delivery to Nigerians.

He lamented a situation where one of the agencies trying to outsmart the other, saying “government has lived up to its expectation at establishment of security and law enforcement agencies – Nigeria Police Force, Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air force), Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Intelligence Agencies (Directorate of State Service, National Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence), Border Policing Agencies (Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Immigration Service), Federal Road Safety Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Prisons Services (as a penal and correctional service), etc. “Overlapping functions and rivalry amongst security agencies remain worrisome challenges.

The question also remains how proactive are these agencies. How well equipped and well funded? There is need for more resources from all the partners “Arase said. The former IGP explained that crimes could only be reduced in the country when private individuals, civil society organizations collaborate with the government through job creations adding that government alone cannot do it.

“Multifaceted actors are involved in security. They include public sector, private sector and civil society. Organizations, individuals, groups and other actors within each of these sectors, have several crime prevention and crime control initiatives.

“They deploy resources, directly and indirectly, to national security initiatives. Three broad levels of analysis are taken for the purpose of national security strategic partnership approach, in what I label as public sector security strategic partner, private sector security strategic partner and civil society security strategic partner”, he said.

In this article

0 Comments