Banditry can be stopped

Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, again brought to the fore the issue of total federal control over security forces as a major constraint in the fight against banditry, terrorism and other criminalities. Lamenting the limited control by governors over frontline federal security forces in their states, Lawal said it limits their ability to respond […]

Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, again brought to the fore the issue of total federal control over security forces as a major constraint in the fight against banditry, terrorism and other criminalities. Lamenting the limited control by governors over frontline federal security forces in their states, Lawal said it limits their ability to respond to threats swiftly.

Stating that banditry would have become history in his state if he had control over security outfits, Governor Lawal said: “We have dozens of tracking facilities which we fixed across the state just to help security in tracking the bandits. I swear to Almighty Allah, wherever a bandits’ leader is located within Zamfara State, I know it and if he goes out, I know.

“With my mobile phone, I can show you where and where these bandits are today. But we cannot do anything beyond our powers. If today, I have the power to give orders to the security agencies, I can assure you, we will end banditry in Zamfara State within two months.

“Most of the time, I shed tears for my people because I can see a problem but because I don’t have control over the security agencies, I cannot order the security operatives to act in time. There was a time, the bandits invaded Shinkafi Local Government and I was sitting here when the security operatives were alerted but they refused to go to Shinkafi simply because they were not given orders from Abuja. This is the problem we are facing but we have entrusted everything to God and surely, He will come to our rescue.”

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Lawal is not alone. Other governors have raised the same issue, lamenting that this is frustrating as they have continued to support some of the security agencies with logistics and running costs through their free access to security votes. Yet, there has been deafening silence by the federal government on the outcry of the governors.

But operationally, governors are lame-duck chief security officers who have no direct control of security in their states. This is because Section 217(1) and Section 218(1- 3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is clear that appointment of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Service Chiefs and the operational control of the armed forces are exclusively reserved for the president.

In fact, Section 218(1) is explicit: “The powers of the President as the Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall include power to determine the operational use of the armed forces of the Federation.” In the same vein, Section 215 (1a), (2), sub-section 215(3) and Section 216(2) of the constitution on the appointment of Inspector General of Police (IGP) and heads of other security agencies and the operational use of the forces makes it clear that they are under the control of the president.

So, even though the constitution gave the governors executive powers over their states, it excluded them from issues being handled by the federal government especially the control of the defence and security institutions responsible for maintenance of peace and internal security in the country.

Ideally, a State police commissioner is supposed to liaise with the governor in respect of security matters, but such commissioner is not obliged to take instructions or orders from the governor without getting clearance from the Inspector General of Police who himself takes orders directly from the President.

Therefore, the Constitution should be amended to devolve some policing powers to state and local levels with specific pronouncements on crimes within the competence of the state to investigate and police. Also, federal and state authorities should develop regulations to better manage vigilante groups and risks associated with their operations, including formulating a national legal framework for regulating the groups.

We at Daily Trust believe that both federal and state governments should work in synergy especially in coordinating operational deployments as the current security architecture has left some of the governors helpless and the people are currently at the receiving end.  This has become necessary as the failure of defence and security forces to stop the menace of bandits and other criminals has resulted in the proliferation of vigilante organisations, ranging from small bands of volunteers in villages and city neighbourhoods to large structures established by state governments.

Most importantly, there should be improved inter-agency cooperation especially in intelligence gathering and information-sharing mechanisms to track and apprehend criminals. Also, in coordination with federal government, there should be state-level intelligence networks that gather and share information on bandits and their activities through traditional, religious and community leaders and youth groups.

Operationally, there should be enhanced deployment of drones and satellite surveillance including early warning systems that track movements of bandits and other criminal elements.

Moreover, we frown at any attempt to politicise insecurity as this inherently undermines the war against banditry and terrorism. The federal government should clamp down on patronage of criminals by federal, state and local government officials including traditional, religious and community leaders by investigating those complicit in banditry or other criminal networks.

The porous borders used for arms smuggling and escape must be secured while the forest reserves that serve as hideouts should be under constant monitor and clearance of criminal elements.

In addition, both federal and state governments should fervently address the root socio-economic causes of banditry and terrorism like poverty and unemployment by investing in infrastructure, education, and job creation.

The federal government should lead the states to implement a comprehensive strategy that builds and fosters confidence and cooperation between local populations and security forces towards keeping all citizens safe, regardless of who they are or where they live. There should be speedy trials and prosecution of bandits and other criminal elements.

The truth is that with the array of federal defence and other security forces, the seeming belief is that if the federal government wants banditry to end, it can enforce this and we demand that they should stop these unprovoked attacks on our defenceless people.