Amid the growing over insecurity in the country, experts have called on the Federal Government to review its counterterrorism approach, as part of measures to address the problem.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, the Chief Executive Officer of Aquiline Intelligence, Onyekachi Adekoya, stressed that counterterrorism should be handled by the police rather than the army.
“It takes good policing to deal with counterterrorism. We need a robust department for homeland security under the Ministry of Interior,” Adekoya said.
Speaking on the security situation in the Marte Local Government Area of Borno State, during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, the Director at the Commonwealth Institute, Professor Anthony Kila, said the loss of a single community was a cause for concern.
“What has happened is that there is a war going on between the anti-state and the state, and the state has not upped its game.
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“The static image of the situation is: terrorist 1, government 0,” Kila added.
Adekoya further faulted the under-utilisation of Nigeria’s national action plan on preventing and countering violent extremism.
“There’s no report showing that the framework has been reviewed,” he added.
Marte Local Government Area in northern Borno State, has faced attacks by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgents.
Nigeria’s counterterrorism operations are currently led by the military through Operation Hadin Kai, but concerns persist over inadequate policing, intelligence coordination, and civilian security frameworks.
Worried about the situation, the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, last Saturday, appealed to the Federal Government to deploy decisive strategies that would ensure that Marte town does not fall to Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgents.
Zulum said, “Marte was resettled about 4 years ago, but unfortunately, over the last three days, it was ransacked and was displaced again.”
“About 20,000 people left Marte for Dikwa; this huge number is a threat as allowing them to stay in the camp may make most of the younger ones vulnerable to recruitment by the insurgents.”
Apart from Borno, other states like Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Katsina and Taraba have also recorded attacks.
Suspected bandits at the weekend attacked the Waje community in the Danko Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, killing 15 farmers and injuring three others.
The Chairman of Danko Wasagu Local Government, Alhaji Hussaini Aliyu Bena, confirmed the attack.
Governor Nasir Idris, during a condolence visit to the residence of the District Head of Waje, assured the community that the state government would take necessary steps to address insecurity and ensure farmers can safely return to their farmlands.
The district head explained that the Danko Wasagu area shares borders with Niger, Zamfara, and Sokoto states, making it vulnerable to attacks.
He also appealed for enhanced security measures to block the entry points used by the attackers.
