Rising insecurity: Afenifere seeks overhaul of security architecture

The pan-Yoruba socio-po­litical organisation, Afenifere, has called for the overhaul of the security ap­paratus in the country, say­ing that there is complicity and sabotage on the part of those managing security in the country.

The organisation in a statement yesterday signed by its National Pub­licity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, also expressed shock over the attack on Christ Apostolic Church during a special service on Tuesday as well as the kill­ing and abduction of rice farmers in Bokungi in Edu Local Government Area of the same Kwara State on Wednesday.

Afenifere also decried the attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Sec­ondary School, Maga, Keb­bi State and and the killing of Brigadier-General Musa Uba who was ambushed on Damboa-Biu by terrorists.

The statement reads, “The level of insecurity is calling for a thorough over­haul of the country’s secu­rity architecture as high level complicity, sabotage and attempts to turn the people against the govern­ment cannot be ruled out in the upsurge of terrorists’ attacks presently”.

It further contended that the dimension which the attacks are taking, the sophistication and der­ring-do character of the attacks clearly showed that the attacks were carefully planned and were being carried out by elements who are versed in military and intelligence opera­tions.

Afenifere added, “This supposition was lent cre­dence to by no less a person than Kebbi State governor, Mohammed Nasir Idris, who disclosed that there was an intelligence report that the school was going to be attacked and he acted on the information with a view to preventing the at­tack from being carried out.

“The governor who dis­closed this when he visited the school in Maga declared pointedly that the attack was ‘a clear sabotage’.

“Giv­ing reason for this conclu­sion, Governor Idris said: ‘We got credible intelli­gence from the Department of State Security (DSS) that this school was likely to be attacked. DSS further ad­vised that we convene an emergency Security Coun­cil meeting, which we did’.”

Meanwhile, Afenifere has sought the immediate implementation of the National Counter-Terror­ism Strategy (NACTEST) and prompt enforcement of Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 as amended in 2013 and 2022.

“The Act is “for the pre­vention, prohibition and combating of acts of terror­ism, financing of terrorism in Nigeria …” etc.

“We call on the DSS and Military Intelligence to beam more searchlights within, beam searchlights on illegal mining sites.”