Mr. Ubong King is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Protection Plus Services, a private security outfit with core interest in VIP protection, Maritime security and Man-Guard services. He spoke to ODITA SUNDAY on the need for security agencies to bury their interests and network for Nigeria’s security.

With the return of bombings to the FCT, Nigerians are worried that intelligence agencies are lagging behind in their duties?
THE intelligence agencies have not done enough. Their responsibility, which is primarily intelligence, has been distracted. People see DSS as the secret service. They are supposed to work underground, gathering information, espionage works etc. But the challenge is that there has been a lot of challenge in policing and this has challenged the intelligence agencies, especially, the DSS to do more than it is expected to do.

No security agency in Nigeria is well funded. This is the problem. Funding does not mean salary alone. Funding includes, providing equipment, logistics, insurance, and trainings. Training is not what you do once in a year, it is a continuous thing. If these things are not there, it is not possible for them to perform well. I was privileged to be in Cameroun and I met with the BIR, because my calling also includes maritime security, a lot of things I saw in Cameroun made me realise they are very well funded and they are prepared for any challenge.

The manpower of the DSS is not enough to meet up with their demands. The New York Police have a policy framework, which is called 3C; they are Counter Terrorism, Crime reduction and Community relations. There is no way intelligence organisations can succeed without putting in perspective these 3Cs. They cannot work in isolation of the community they live in. With the change in the leadership of DSS, a lot of people do not feel exactly supportive of the leaderships, because of that, there is a restriction of relationship with the DSS.

It is tougher for them now. The pressure on the DSS is too much, so, they are overwhelmed to deliver on their mandate, which is why it is like they are not doing enough. What they have is not enough to combat the tension on the ground. During the last regime, there was a situation when it appeared that the intelligence agencies were at weak ebb.

Do you feel worried when you see intelligence agencies wearing uniforms and bearing arms?
I’m really worried. That is why I am saying that government needs to do much on the country’s policing, because the work that DSS are doing is purely police work. The police needs to reposition it and stamp its authority. They must also strive to regain the confidence of Nigerians. If this were not done, you would continue to see the DSS doing police duties.

How do we correct this anomaly?
From the time of Niger Delta militancy to the time of kidnapping for ransom, there has been a heavy failure from the police institution and that pushed the Department of State Services to come out with all their arsenals in order to be able to mitigate these problems. Because of the successes they record when they are used, people now began to look unto them for help where police failed. Even the military was also used. It is good that the DSS operate without any form of uniform so that they can really infiltrate the opponent to know what they are doing. By this, they would be able to foil any attempt.

Many believe that they are not well funded, how far is this true?
No security agency in Nigeria is well funded. This is the problem. Funding does not mean salary alone. Funding includes, providing equipment, logistics, insurance, and trainings. Training is not what you do once in a year, it is a continuous thing. If these things are not there, it is not possible for them to perform well. I was privileged to be in Cameroun and I met with the BIR, because my calling also includes maritime security, a lot of things I saw in Cameroun made me realise they are very well funded and they are prepared for any challenge. People are not excited in joining the police anymore. It is those who are eagerly looking for a job that join the police; they don’t have the excitement to join, they do so because of lack of job and not because of their love for the job. It is supposed to be a thing of pride to join the police or military. If you travel to any country, the flight attendants would call for military personnel or police officers to board first, before any other citizen, but here, it is not the same. We don’t even respect for our security personnel. If military officers are returning from war, citizens would go to the airport to receive them and clap for them.

Our intelligence agencies have not fully embraced technology. Why?
Our problem is leadership. If our leader embraces technology, every agency will follow. If whoever is at the helm of affairs is technology savvy, he would know that gone are those days of analogue. In 2012, when riot broke out before the Olympics, they did not see police beating anyone, immediately the riot calmed down, they arrested everyone who was involved in that riot. They got all of them through the CCTV, which showed all their addresses. Why should I send three men to go and watch over someone when I can deploy technology?

Merging them is not necessary. Government should spell out what their deliverables are and hold them accountable for successes or failures. The problem in Nigeria is that no one measures failures or success. After the 9/11 attacks, there have been 13 different attempts to attack New York and none of them worked out, because they learnt their lessons. Every Inspector General that comes works with his own strategy and nullifies the strategy of his predecessor, who was achieving greatly due to the problem on the ground. If the Navy intelligence networks with Air Force, DSS, Police intelligence units, they would achieve more.

How do we achieve synergy between the security agencies and avoid bickering?
There is need to set up strategic team of all the security agencies. The team should be like a Think-tank, which reports to someone who is autonomous. They should report to the NSA or president directly. DSS personnel are very few compared with the army and police, but if the DSS are able to gather the intelligence and get the police to complete the job, is that not better? When everyone wants to do hisown thing, they would leave gaps and endanger the society.

Should the DSS, NIA and DMI be merged in order to have one intelligence outfit?
Merging them is not necessary. Government should spell out what their deliverables are and hold them accountable for successes or failures. The problem in Nigeria is that no one measures failures or success. After the 9/11 attacks, there have been 13 different attempts to attack New York and none of them worked out, because they learnt their lessons. Every Inspector General that comes works with his own strategy and nullifies the strategy of his predecessor, who was achieving greatly due to the problem on the ground. If the Navy intelligence networks with Air Force, DSS, Police intelligence units, they would achieve more.