Sequel to what has been described as uncommon display of maturity and professionalism by the National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu over the recent attack on the President of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Owerri, a security analyst and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Badinson Security Limited, Mr. Matthew Ibadin has commended the NSA even as he has encouraged him to do more for Nigeria in a manner reminiscent of the solid foundation he laid for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as its pioneer Chairman/Chief Executive Officer.
In a press statement made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), Ibadin took a swipe at some government officials and security agents of the Nigerian state who often display arrogance in the course of duty, asking them to borrow some leaf from the NSA who truly believed that attacking the NLC boss in whatever guise was an abuse of fundamental human rights and against the rule of law.
He pointed out that the NLC President is a highly revered office that must be respected just like the offices of Governors, Ministers, traditional rulers, and so on are treated with dignity.
He hailed the NSA for the prompt arrest of those who brutally attacked the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, adding that the action of the government should not just end at the arrest but with diligent prosecution of the suspects and adequate punishment if found guilty.
While commending the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress for calling off the nationwide strike embarked upon by the two unions largely over the attack on Ajaero, the security chieftain advised the two unions to understand that the present administration was just finding its feet and should therefore not always resort to strike to avoid total breakdown of law and order.
To enhance a cordial relationship between the government and trade unions, Ibadin advised the Federal Government to have a very strong negotiating team and always adopt the alternative dispute resolution mechanism.
This according to him would prevent a reoccurrence of the nationwide strike during which Nigerians lost billions of money for two days of the strike.
On the issue of insecurity in the country, the Badinson Security boss has advised the NSA to step up his collaborative efforts with security agencies in the country to track down suspected sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency, Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), and other economic sabotage group like oil thieves and their collaborators in the Niger Delta region. He contended that the NSA should coordinate the arrest of the oil thieves.
Further, he advised the NSA to ensure that rather than position themselves as competitors in the nation’s security space, the security agencies should collaborate more intimately since synergy would guarantee better security performance.
Ibadin noted that prior to the emergence of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, there had been reports in the media of certain arrests of personalities connected with the sponsorship of insurgency, banditry, and kidnapping particularly in the northern parts of the country, but the matter seemed to have been swept under the carpet.
He recalled specifically the arrest and deportation from Egypt of Mr. Tukur Mamu in 2022 for allegedly collecting a whopping sum of N2 billion on behalf of the terrorists, who kidnapped passengers from a Kaduna-bound train in March 2022. Not much has been heard about the incident anymore, he said.
He observed that one of the problems besetting adequate investigation into such matters is the lack of crime data information. Ibadin regretted that security agencies in the country have been unable to share crime information due to a lack of accurate crime data records.
He has therefore advised the NSA to revisit such cases which were treated with levity by the Muhammadu Buhari administration even as he reminded Ribadu that it is his duty as the NSA to advise the President on matters concerning intelligence and make recommendations to him.
While emphasising the fact that inter-agency synergy is central to the objectives of the Office of the National Security Adviser, Ibadin pointed out that the role of the NSA transcends mere coordination of the three major intelligence agencies and other security agencies, but to act in such other matters on security as the President deems it fit.
As the lead agency in internal security, the security analyst has urged the NSA to use his position to ensure that a special intervention fund for the Nigeria Police Force as the police cannot do magic in solving security challenges that are capable of driving away foreign investors.
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