A chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) Chief Yohanna Margif has called on the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to drastically restructure scrutinize Nigeria’s security architecture in order to tackle the nation’s insecurity challenges.
Margif, a former LP governorship candidate in the 2023 election in Plateau State, whose ticket was later withdrawn by the party, made the call in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.
He said the call was necessitated by recent comments by former Niger Delta militant, Asari Dokubu, that a former Nigerian President had engaged his men to tackle security challenges in the country.
He said, “Asari Dokubo’s comments concerning the role he was engaged by a former president to tackle security challenges and that his men particularly tackled the kidnapping on Kaduna, Niger and other routes has made Nigerians to doubt the intergrity and security architecture of the country.
“I want to appreciate Asari Dokubo for his courage and boldness for opening the can of worms.
“A great country like Nigeria, which has its own security forces, who are armed to the teeth with a clear mandate to protect its sovereignty and citizens, should never again engage private security groups by whatever name to help in tackling insecurity for obvious reasons.”
The LP stalwart said it was only in a lawless country that a private citizen would just wake up, form a group, sponsor and infuse it into the national security architecture.
He described the situation as a security breach, which could result in the emergence of similar groups that would like to also test their popularity.
According to him, if such a development is not urgently looked into and tackled, it will always be difficult for people to differentiate between genuine security personnel and criminals who have been caught wearing military fatigues.
“A private citizen cannot just wake up one day and engage his men or group to assist Nigeria’s security operatives in the sensitive task of curbing crimes for the love of the country.
“If I may ask, how did Asari Dokubo carry out the operation since we already know that we already have the nation’s armed forces, who were carrying out the same operations across the country? Were both sides putting on identical wears?
“The Federal Government, particularly, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, should therefore, treat this matter with the urgency and seriousness it deserves in order to curb security lapses,” he said.
Margif also urged Ribadu to investigate Dokubo’s allegation about the involvement of the nation’s Army and Navy in oil theft beyond their official denials in order to establish its veracity or otherwise.
“The National Security Adviser to the president, Nuhu Ribadu, should not treat such weighty issues with kid gloves but wade into them immediately because they have serious impact on national security and the economy,” he added.