The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbsola, has assured of the commitment of the Federal Government towards improving the security of all citizens in Nigeria.
Aregbesola gave the assurances in Abuja, Tuesday, 9 November, on the occassion of the inauguration of the Committee to study the Recommendations and Implementation Strategies on Strengthening Internal Security Framework and Community Policing in Nigeria.
TheFact Nigeria reports that in his speech titled “A Quantum Leap on National Security”, Aregbsola disclosed that the journey to the event began in 2018 with the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 40, of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
The Minister disclosed that the Committee had observed that the operations of the internal security agencies in the country had been negatively affected by the absence of a national security policy and strategy document as well as a monitoring and evaluation framework on internal security.
This, he said, had necessitated the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to approve an Inter-Ministerial Committee with all relevant stakeholders on internal security, to be put in place.
Aregbesola stressed that one of the nine priority areas of the Buhari-led administration is to improve governance and provide security for all citizens. This therefore “calls for all seriousness to provide the needed apparatus and security architecture to fight insecurity in the country.”
The Minister charged the newly inauguated Committee, which has seven sub-Committees and their Terms of Reference (TOR), to bear in mind the seriousness of the assignment, and emphasized that “providing security for lives and property of the citizens is the primary responsibility of Government. This is a mission on which we cannot afford to fail.”
Aregbsola also mentioned three key aspects of their mandate: there must be a new and effective strategic thinking that should be at least two steps ahead of these current challenges. He pointed out the recent incidences at the correctional facilities are not a matter of internal insurrection by inmates, but mass armed invasion from outside. A new strategy therefore must emerge to tackle these new challenges.
The second is the issue of galvanizing resources, human, financial and technological, and the third is community policing.
The people, Aregbesola said, are the primary agents in their security, nevertheless, they must be socialized and well organized along that line-with the people in the first line of defence. He added that, if people are organized for their own security, it makes the work of security agencies easy.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, expressed his appreciation to the Minister and the Executive Course (SEC) 40, 2018 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), for the Report and Documents on Monitoring and Evaluation Framework on Internal Security, which made President Muhammadu Buhari approve the Inter-Ministerial Committee.
The Ministry’s Director, Planning Research and Statistics, Mr Ayuba Kabir, thanked all members that attended the inauguration and appreciated the Minister and the Permanent Secretary for ensuring a successful inauguration.
Other members of the Committee are officers from Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, National Security Agency, NSA, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, NAF, Dapartment of State Services, DSS, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, IPCR, Federal Ministry of Scuence and Technology, Nigerian Communication Satelite, Ltd, NICOMSAT, and FMDE.
Others are DG, NIPPSS, Brig, General, Udaya (rtd), Air Commodore I.J Ukeh, representative of Chief of Air Staff, Brig Gen. MK Ibrahim representative of Chief of Army Staff, Service Chiefs under Ministry of Interior and other personalities.
