 Mr Joseph Daudu
The President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA)
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Security lapses blamed on poor training of security operatives
Chukwumerije Aja, Abuja
The President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr Joseph Daudu, have blamed the high level of killings and bomb explosions in the country on poor professional training and the quality of facilities available to various security operatives.
Daudu made this observation in Abuja on Friday at the NBA’s Round Table on Human Rights in Nigeria.
He also noted that deep corruption within the system has contributed in worsening the security situation in the country.
Buttressing his point, he said: “By way of example, the following questions come to mind when bomb or other acts of terror are unleashed on the people. Did the police or adjunct security agencies have any intelligence prior to the occurrence? Do the law enforcement agencies have the appropriate preventive mechanisms to deal with terrorist threats? Does the nation have special facilities for the containment of perpetrators of such evil acts? If we do have these facilities are the techniques for arraignment and trials appropriate?
“Do the security agents apply excessive force or indulge in reprehensible acts, such as extra judicial killings? What is the effect of such unconstitutional measures, if they are found to exist in the fight against terrorism?
Does it not in the light of recent developments have a tendency to exacerbate matters?”
Need for high professional expertise
On the issue of negotiating with terrorists, the NBA President, who viewed it as being tantamount to dialoguing with criminal, observed that such a practice might send signals to likeminded people to engage in similar acts that government only listens when you intimidate and resort to terror.
He acknowledged the effort of the National Assembly, which he said felt the pulse of Nigerians and as such passed Terrorism (Prevention) Bill, 2011 into law and same was assented to by President Goodluck Jonathan on June 2, 2011.
He said that the Terrorism (Prevention) Bill would assist the security agencies in addressing the issue of insecurity if they could apply high professional expertise and intelligence gathering to nip terrorism acts in the bud.
Highlighting some of the provisions of the law, Daudu noted that “it seeks to provide the legal framework for the prevention, prohibition and combating of acts of terrorism in Nigeria as well as prescribe penalties for violating any of its provisions.”
Challenges
The Chairman Senate Committee on Judiciary, Sen. Dahiru Umaru, said that terrorism constitutes a major threat to the security of a nation and that fighting it without infringing on the rights of Nigerians poses another challenge.
The lawmaker however observed that the current terrorism law could be amended to make it more result oriented while calling on Nigerians who have useful suggestions to send them to the appropriate committee of the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the occasion Ibrahim Abdullahi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, condemned the spate of bombing and killings in Nigeria.
He pointed out that when the National Human Rights Commission was established, it was not necessarily meant to be an agent of government but for the people to ensure that rights abuses from any quarter was tackled within the ambits of the law without delay.
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