A security expert, Nkansi Wodo, has advised government to take internal security seriously and provide funding for security agencies to respond promptly in times of emergency.
The security expert said that there should be funding and welfare for the police if they should respond promptly in time of need.
Wodo said: “We cannot continue to not take internal security seriously and expect effectiveness in our internal security apparatus. We can’t continue to reduce funding for the police. We can’t continue to neglect training. We can’t continue to neglect police welfare. We can’t continue to even neglect accountability structures for the police and then expect that all of a sudden they would be able to respond the way SWAT would”.
He also said there should be inter-agency co-operation among security agencies to fight crime and tackle emergency.
He said rather than co-operate security agencies compete with one another and would obstruct accomplishment of common goal.
Speaking on new security outfit formed by South-East Governors, Wodo said he expects that the security outfit would be effective.
He said: “It’s not something that was not expected for the South-East Governors to come out with their own regional security outfit but we would (see) whether it would be effective within the context of the overall security architecture presently in place in Nigeria”.
He said the South-East was for some time largely peaceful but with the issues of attacks on police headquarters and prisons and increasing clashes between farmers and herdsmen, governments in the region decided that they should form a regional security outfit.
The security expert said the country should make hard decision and not let circumstances to chip away at decision it should have made.
He said political leaders should make the decision and restructure the country.
The security expert spoke while appearing as guest on Nigeria Info 92.3, Port-Harcourt.
He said there should be formal co-ordination saying that the regional security outfits were complementary to the country’s general security architecture.
He said there should be co-ordination and not isolation of the security outfits.
The new regional security outfit, Ebube Agu, formed by South-East governors was recently announced by Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi, who is Chairman of South-East Governors’ Forum after a meeting.
A prison facility as well as police headquarters were destroyed recently by thugs in Imo State in South-East Nigeria.
