Faruk saga: Why Nigerian security failed
On Monday morning National Security Adviser Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar, a retired Major-General, signed a strongly-worded query to the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Ambassador E.O. Oladeji. In the query entitled: “Alleged Involvement of Umar Faruk Mutallab in an Attempt to Bomb a U.S. Airliner” and dated December 28, the National Security Adviser said, […]
On Monday morning National Security Adviser Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar, a retired Major-General, signed a strongly-worded query to the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Ambassador E.O. Oladeji. In the query entitled: “Alleged Involvement of Umar Faruk Mutallab in an Attempt to Bomb a U.S. Airliner” and dated December 28, the National Security Adviser said, “From all indications, it seemed that your Agency had prior knowledge of a report, said to have been made by Alhaji Umaru Mutallab about the tendencies of his son, Umar Faruk, towards radicalism, which was manifested in the incident leading to his arrest in the U.S. It is really unfortunate and sad that knowledge of such an important intelligence issue could not be brought to the attention of this office, or the weekly Intelligence Community Committee Meeting (ICCM). It was this failure that led to the unfortunate incident we are grappling with now. The report if circulated within the ICC would have alerted the Security Agencies at our Travel Control Points (TCPs) to take appropriate required action, that would have led to his arrest, before boarding the KLM flight from Nigeria, thereby pre-empting the sad incident.”
The NSA noted that “Failure to do so has not only led to this rather unfortunate international embarrassment to the Nigerian nation, but also depicted our country as a haven for terrorists.”
Minster of Information and National Orientation, Professor Dora Akunyili, said Faruk spent 21 minutes at the Murtala Mohammed Airport and was even captured by CCTV mounted by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). This further lent credence to the fact that if the intelligence community were in tune with their responsibilities, he could have been detected and arrested. She also told Weekly Trust over the phone that the senior Mutallab should be commended for raising alarm.
Former Lagos State Police Commsioner, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, told Weekly Trust that the security agencies should take the blame for their failure to arrest the suspect. “If the father had alerted the security agencies about the activities of his son, then it is failure on their part for not mounting effective surveillance that would have led to his arrest immediately he was sighted at the airport. The problem with the security agencies in Nigeria at the airport is that they are more interested in carrying the bags and luggage of the high and mighty in our society without checking them. In fact, they even help them avoid security checks and clear their passport for them. This is something I have witnessed at airports myself.”
On the issue of inter-agency rivalry, Tsav says it exists in the service. “Each agency is claiming to be more important than the other. That is the problem. I think if the agencies focus on their area of competence, share information and work for the same goal, we’ll have a better security system in the country.”
On intelligence gathering, the former police boss told Weekly Trust that cronyism is destroying the gathering of information. “Intelligence gathering is not sufficient. Sometimes when you are compiling a report on somebody, especially an influential man, the person you are suppose to report to will leak information to the person involved thereby making the whole thing useless.” He said Nigeria should not allow American intelligence agents to come into the country in the name of looking for clues on Faruk because it could be counter-productive. SSS spokeswoman, Marilyn Ogar declined comment when contacted.
A police detective in Abuja told Weekly Trust that an Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in the police force has been established to detect terrorism and deter potential terrorists but they have limited access to perceived places of attack including airports, offices and seaports. He said the ATS also monitor individuals and organisations but are yet to establish facts that could link any individual or group to terrorist activity.
The Commissioner of Police in charge of ATS, Ade Shinaba, said ATS officers have been deployed to places including a few airports and seaports and conduct patrols even at the sea. “Just recently, we intercepted pirates at the sea and recovered weapons from them,” he said. He said the ATS would be deployed to all strategic places and would be directed to conduct searches to ascertain the innocence of suspected terrorist irrespective of the approval of the authorities or the people there.
Harold Demuren, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) told world press after a closed door meeting with aviation security committee on Wednesday that Nigerian airports like any other airport in the world has metal detectors and body scanners at her disposal for screening of passengers but the present situation has called for intensified security measures. He stressed that 100 percent examination is mandatory for all persons and crew members travelling in and out of Nigeria. Meanwhile, movement in and out of the MMIA is so restricted as only eligible travellers are allowed into the terminal building. The cargo section around the Hajj Camp at the headquarters of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company NAHCO, once busy, is now almost serene.
In order to stem this trend of security lapses, Max Gbanite, a security consultant in a paper titled ‘Intelligence and National Security’, said “there must be an effective intelligence-gathering unit. Criminal records such as fingerprints and photographs of arrested persons must be centralized by computerization, and all police stations fitted with computers. This enables the arresting officer to conduct a national check on any newly arrested persons, to determine if they have committed previous offenses or wanted in any other state of the federation. Neighbourhood policing (patrol by foot, bicycles, motorcycles, and vehicles) must be activated to create the impression of police presence at all times. The police public-relations department must start working with their communities as co-partners in crime fighting. This act alone will reduce the suspicious attitude the communities have of the police. Each agency must be allowed to be creative in establishing a task force with powers to conduct undercover sting ,” he advised.