Niger Attacks: Nigeria Needs ‘Overwhelming Security Presence ’ — EX- AIG Ogbaudu

In order to address rising banditry and terrorism across the country, Felix Ogbaudu, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), has said the country needs “overwhelming security presence”.

Ogbaudu stated this while featuring on Arise Television on Thursday.

The former AIG condemned the attacks in Niger state and wondered how an abduction of members of a secondary school community was successfully executed without the security agencies stopping them.

“My honest advice is that we need to have an overwhelming security presence nationwide. That is the only way to deter these guys because they have an intelligent network.

“We need to establish more police presence in all those places because, by the time they go around and they see no security network, they go to wherever they choose uninterrupted,” he said.

He called for more proactive security intelligence, where personnel are abreast and prepared for impending attacks rather than deploying massive personnel post terror attacks.

“It is not when it happens, the next thing the president gives are matching orders, service chiefs are moving men in their hundreds to the place.

“We need to increase the strength of the security operatives, UN ratio is one police officer to 400 men, here in Nigeria we are a far cry from that number.

“So, we need to get more officers, train them, equip them and be able to monitor what happens over the place, and of course providing security does not necessarily mean what the officers see with their eyes…

“…There are so many ways (Technology-based) that the environment communities and the high ways can be monitored,” he said.

He stressed that while the Federal Government may be keen on knowing those responsible for the Kagara abduction, it was important to first know if bandits or Boko Haram were behind it.

“Bandits and Terrorism is a matter of semantics because they are doing the same thing. Whether you are a bandit, terrorist, Boko Haram, they are all destructing the society and they are heinous crimes,” he said.

Meanwhile, he called for a collective responsibility where vital and timely information would be reported to security personnel by members of the community.

“What is missing is the inability of the citizens who live around those areas to pass information to security agencies, and like I will say security presence is grossly inadequate in this society.

“We need to sensitize the members of the public to say something when they see anything,” he said.

In the last 48 hours, a secondary school and communities in Rafi and Shiroro Local Government Areas (LGA) witnessed multiple attacks by suspected bandits.

At least 52 people, including students and teachers, were reportedly abducted during the attacks, while two fatalities were recorded.