Boko Haram: Security agencies indict police •As Rights activists call for national summit

THERE is anger among operatives of the inter-agency intelligence network currently probing the bomb blast which rocked the Force Headquarters of the Nigeria Police two weeks ago.

Sources close to the investigations told the Nigerian Tribune that initial reports put together by the police for the investigators were considered worthless and substandard.

It was gathered that some expert operatives deployed from the counter terrorism departments of other agencies within Nigeria as well as officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States of America were unhappy that the police did not follow many leads in the build-up to the bomb blast.

Again, a source said that some of the hard evidences needed to be retrieved from the site of the blast were tampered with due to unrestrained access of many officials to the location.

For instance, a source said that there appeared to be laxity in the handling of the blast by police operatives and the hierarchy as some officials were allowed access to the scene of the incident after the blast.

Some of the operatives were said to have reported during interactions with the National Security Adviser (NSA) that the police needed to brace up, so that they won’t further disgrace the security network.

It was gathered that the recent security council meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in attendance, provided leading security chiefs the opportunity to vent their anger on the police’s handling of security matters in the country.

A number of security chiefs at the meeting were said to have condemned the Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, for the apparent laxity.

But police authorities were said to have pleaded with the government to see the bomb blast as an “error” which would not be allowed to repeat itself.

Sources said that intelligence officers drafted from other agencies and the FBI were worried that the police had apparently left its Intelligence arm redundant in the build-up to the attack.

“A number of issues were raised which the administration is looking into, especially on the scenarios that led to the recent attack on the police headquarters,” a source said.

It was learnt that some agencies had raised a number of questions, which, they believed, were either ignored or overlooked in recent weeks. A source stated that some posers raised at some of the meetings included: Why would a man with an unmarked vehicle drive into the Force Headquarters without being stopped at the gate? Why would a policeman enter his (bomber’s car) instead of simply directing him to the car park? What was the scene captured by the CCTV camera? What are the police doing about reports allegedly linking some of their men to forces behind some of those behind bomb blasts in the past?

Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the current trend of insecurity occasioned by the insurgency of dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, the fume over the implementation of the new minimum wage as well as the introduction of the controversial Islamic banking in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the call for a summit of all ethnic nationalities and stakeholders in the country has been re-invigorated.

A cross section of human rights activists, who bared their minds over the weekend, said, rather than put the blame of the Boko Haram issue solely on the security agencies, and government agencies they were unanimous that the “the roots of the issues, rather than the consequences elicited by those issues” should be addressed before the nation plunges into anarchy.

According to them, the current issues of the minimum wage, as well as the controversial Islamic banking in the offing meant that those in positions of authority are manipulating the already defective federalism to the disadvantage of the people, arguing,”this forced unity must be discussed.”

Festus Keyamo, human rights lawyer, said “what is happening now in this country means that what is fundamentally wrong with our federalism that we have, over the years, tried to suppress has become too strong, defying any cosmetic measure now.

“How can a group of people wake up one day and insist that they want the eradication of western education in the country? That means they want to Islamise the entire nation, which is very dangerous to the secular nature of this country.

“While I concede to them the right to ignore western education, it is certainly despicable for them to attempt to generalise it. It is, therefore, very important that we sit down as a nation and decide where do we go from here. This is what most of those who love Nigeria had advocated for long.

“In essence, we must conference and discuss our future as a nation, discuss our terms of unity and relationship with one another and the modalities for that national discourse. I may not be in a position to say, but certainly, the conference must be of more value and precedence over the political stock market called National Assembly.

“This becomes very compelling in view of the very disturbing political situation in the country, particularly in the North, at the time the late president was so ill that Nigerians advocated the assumption of Jonathan as acting president, coupled with the antagonism that confronted Jonathan in the build up to presidential primary and the outcome of the presidential election, where the voting pattern showed that a section of this nation cannot be president.”

To Yinka Odumakin, spokesman, Afenifere Renewal Group and Save Nigeria Group, “the situation in this country today calls for a very critical national self-appraisal, in a manner that everybody is made to face the reality of our defective federalism. The current system in practice is such that it empowers in a very disdainful manner, a few at the centre, who manipulate the system to their advantage and to the detriment of the larger society.

“As it is now, Nigeria cannot run away from its shadow; the time has come for us to face the reality and discuss our future relationship with one another, that is the way to refer power to the people, because the if we say the government should discuss with the Boko Haram sect, it will be a surprise to see others spring up the following day.

“Basically, rather than discussing in isolation with Boko Haram, the discussion should be all-encompassing to accommodate all stakeholders, so that we can re-define our unity and set the basis for the restructuring of the nation. We cannot discuss religious justice without political justice, we cannot talk about appeasing a section of this country without, first and foremost, addressing the environmental injustice of the Niger-Delta.”

Ms Ann Kio-Briggs, a Niger Delta activist, said “the demand by the Boko Haram sect for the eradication of Western education means that they have an issue like Boro had an issue, like the OPC had very pertinent issues, like the MASSOB who also have issues up till now, because they have also threatened to go the Boko Haram way and, until lately, like the MEND.

“Not only that Boko Haram has issues; and to address this issues raised by them, it means the time to take practical steps to address all issues through a national dialogue has come, and the earlier this is done, the better for the nation. We can take all these issues together, so that those who want Western education can go ahead without any fear of molestation and those who want non-western education can also continue with their way of life unhindered. That is the essence of a federalism that is as diverse as ours.

“Once and for all, let us address the issue of fiscal federalism so that whatever you have, you make do with it, like the issue of minimum wage, under a discussed federalism, every state or entity will pay its workers according to its income. If you like, you pay N30,000 or more and those that cannot afford should make do with what they have, rather than every state relying on the centre.

“Again, a situation whereby a state will declare Sharia status within the confines of the nation’s constitution means that we are operating different types of laws. To those who want Sharia, they can as well stay away from sharing from the federation account because that account has non-Sharia compliant incomes like alcohol taxes.

“Similar thing applies to the Islamic banking that the CBN has just introduced. Unless it goes ahead to call another system Christian banking, then we know something is wrong. The only way to address all these needless suspicions is to sit together and decide whether or not we want to continue to remain as one nation or everybody should go his own way.”