As FG, UK Move to Tackle Terrorism Threats in Nigeria
Linus Aleke
There is no gainsaying that the criminal activities of Boko Haram/Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, secessionist agitators and lately, the Jihadist group, ‘Lakurawa’ are stretching the armed forces and other security agencies beyond limit.
Since 2009, when the militant Islamist group Boko Haram started an armed insurrection against the government of Nigeria, the battle to crush the deadly group has been on. Painfully, the nefarious enterprise of these rogue elements has led to the untimely death of thousands of innocent citizens, in addition to the casualties on the side of troops and other security agents.
Besides, these enemies of the state and humanity have put a strain on the resources of the government, as funds ordinarily meant for development are increasingly channelled into defence and security to curtail the bizarre activities of these outlaws.
For instance, the defence budget in Nigeria for 2021 was $4.47 billion, a 73.93 per cent increase from 2020 and in 2020 it was $2.57 billion, a 38.04 per cent increase from 2019, according to data from SIPRI.
Regrettably, violent crimes continue despite a consistent increase in defence annual budget and spending. In 2023, a report that ranked states in terms of fatalities, resulting from violent crime ranked Borno State as the most dangerous state in Nigeria, registering 29.03 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, primarily due to the Boko Haram conflict. Borno was closely followed by Plateau with 14.29 fatalities.
It is on the premise of the above facts that the federal government in collaboration with the United Kingdom High Commission in Abuja, held a series of security dialogues involving all the major stakeholders in the ecosystem of the terror war, with a view to finding lasting solutions to the lingering counter-terrorism and anti-banditry operations.
This is so because desperate situations demand desperate solutions, hence the urgent need for a multi-pronged approach to tackling the menace. The federal government through the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA-NCTC), has therefore adopted an all-of-society approach in halting terrorism and other emerging security threats across the federation.
This approach to the fight against terror, the centre explained involved partnering with relevant government agencies involved in the ecosystem in the terror fight.
These agencies, the centre averred, include the military, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, foreign missions in the country, ministries of Defence, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Information, including the populace, and host of others.
Speaking at the recent Security and Justice Symposium in Abuja, organised by NCTC-ONSA, and the UK government, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, stated that the symposium was one of the ideas which came out of the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Dialogue, held in February, 2024.
He said the dialogue recognised the complexity of the modern security challenges facing most nations, a complexity which requires a multi-faceted response.
“It is a response which involves both military and civilian efforts, kinetic and non-kinetic action. And we in the British High Commission see a great deal of progress in Nigeria in rising to these challenges, under the leadership of many people in this room.
“We are learning a great deal from our dialogue about Nigerian and regional challenges. We are grateful for the partnership. At the heart of our approaches is a common recognition of the importance of upholding the rule of law, human rights, and humanitarian law in the way we address security challenges.
“Our lawyers tell us that every situation involving violence comes with its own particular set of legal requirements,” Montgomery stressed. He explained that the law that pertains to criminal violence may be different from the law that pertains to a protracted armed conflict – a fact that was comprehensively addressed at a Legal Framework Roundtable with Nigerian military officers earlier this year.
The British envoy posited that effective responses to different situations involving violence will also be different.
On the symposium, he said: “The purpose of today’s symposium is to examine various situations and responses through the lens of the appropriate Nigerian legal framework. As the UK knows only too well, from our own involvement in armed conflicts, incorporating human rights doctrines into security strategies is not without challenges.
“But we remain committed to these legal principles and doctrines because of our experience. And because we believe that they are essential to foster the conditions for more sustainable peace and stability.
“Conditions which include enhancing the reputation and credibility of security actors amongst the wider population. Conditions which include the need to reduce any sense of grievance amongst the wider population. Conditions which can help maintain the consent of the wider population to security action”.
The symposium, he further said, offered an opportunity to share ideas and develop understanding of the inter-connections between military operations, law enforcement and criminal justice.
‘I’m certain that the next two days of discussions will prove constructive, help us to understand constraints to overcome, and opportunities on which to build, and to find ways of making the work of all those in this room more effective in the future,” he concluded.
Supporting the submission of the UK envoy on the need to respect the rights of people living in conflict areas, the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, in a keynote address, advocated for enhanced accountability for war crimes and violations of human rights during peace operations.
Justice Tsoho who was represented by Justice Binta Nyako, also sought enhanced measures to win the confidence of the citizens to combat terrorism in the country.
He said: “We need to enjoy the confidence of the people we are working with for them to freely give actionable intelligence to the security agencies and not the other way round, which is giving intelligence to terrorists and bandits about the movement of troops.
“If the security agencies have a good information from the populace, the war will be won in no distant time. But let us face the reality, these insurgents live amongst us, they are not spirits coming from the moon to attack us, they are people who live within us.
“I find it difficult to comprehend how a large number of people, in hundreds, will converge and move to carry out attacks on communities and the communities are unaware of such movement or planned attack. I find it difficult to fathom. So, if we have a very good network of picking intelligence amongst the populace, it will go a long way in helping to resolve the lingering fight against Insurgency.”
The federal high court justice averred that most people know much about the activities of Boko Haram but are not willing to share such information with the security agencies because of fear.
He explained that this is so because some of the insurgents are their relatives and in fact they live and eat together but the fear of attack will not allow them share such useful intelligence.
He added: “If they have confidence in the security agencies, with assurance that they will be protected, then they can willingly give such information to the security agencies. But the fact is that nobody wants to risk his or her life”.
In his intervention, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, said the military and other security agencies have to be creative to fight insurgency.
“We have to be creative and innovative every day because they are not relenting,” he pointed out. The CDS observed that anywhere in the world where there is no fairness equity and justice, peace is often absent.
The fight against terrorism, he said has two major aspects, kinetic and non-kinetic approach.
“The kinetic aspect is just less than 30 percent. The non-kinetic has a lot of role to play. When we are in a democracy, people must have the dividend of democracy. As long as we tell the people to sit back and be peaceful and they are hungry, their children cannot eat, they will create more problems.
“On the issue of informants, we have to look into it seriously, because these are the people aggravating the problem: those supporting the terrorists by giving them logistics. We have to look for the oxygen, where is the funding coming from? How are they getting the logistics across?
“As theatre commanders in the northeast, we discovered that if we can deny them these logistics and oxygen, they will not survive. We did that and that was how the terrorists started surrendering in their numbers.
“I think if we replicate that all over, we will have very good result. It is also important that we must work together as a team, all the security agencies and they cannot do it without the populace. So the citizens must be sensitised and that leads us to the issue of strategic communications,” Musa argued.
On how strategic communications will help counter extremists ideologies, he explained that he had observed that with the security challenges Nigeria is facing, if there’s no effective communication, the right thing might be done, but the perception might be different.
“We cannot also work in isolation as a country, we need our international partners working together with us. We must work together with our neighbours, we are surrounded by francophone countries, so the challenges are there especially with the resurgence of coup and the effort being made by Nigeria and ECOWAS to bring them back into the fold,” he added.
Earlier, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, while welcoming participants, said that the Security and Justice Symposium was a vital platform for dialogue and collaborations among the security and justice institutions.
The objectives of the symposium, he said, was to delve into successes, challenges, and opportunities for growth within the realm of security and justice.
He said: “As we embark on this journey of critical analysis and introspection, let us keep in mind the noble goals set before us. From analysing and strengthening the intricate relationship between military operations and law enforcement, to enhancing the protection of civilians and fostering a culture of justice and accountability, to promoting a unified approach in countering improvise explosive devices.
“Each objective is poised to make a significant impact. Our intended achievements and ambition are entirely within our reach. As we review our existing framework, evaluate institutional practices and establish collaborative mechanism, our collective effort will chart a course towards a safer and more just society for all.”
These security dialogue series is in line with the mandate of National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), which is
“To lead national efforts at combating terrorism and violent extremism by developing coordinated strategies and integrating all CT actions across government, providing terrorism analysis, national and international CT partners in a Whole of Government and Whole of Society approach to achieve our national CT objectives.”
