A security expert, Oladele Fajana, has expressed worry over the level of insecurity in the country, labelling the situation as appalling.
While urging the government to re-strategise in providing security, Fajana added that apart from the Boko Haram sect in the North which had significantly reduced, there was nothing to write home about the state of security in Nigeria.
He said his submission was based on several attacks on Nigerians, especially the recent railway attack in Benin and the fact that no one (whether the rich or poor), was safe in the country.
The situation, which he said was worrisome, was a show of the government’s lack of absolute control over security in the country, stating that it could be that the security agencies were overwhelmed or believed in a poor or inactive method of securing the country.
He added that it showed that the security agencies were not anticipating enough, hence the recurrent attacks and kidnapping of its citizens.
“The recent Edo train attack is a sad event. There should have been anticipation and strategies in place to prevent a recurrence after the Abuja-Kaduna train attack. The government and security agencies should have beefed up security in those areas prone to such attacks before commencing operations.
“There should have been security arrangements for all railway stations in the country because what these criminals do is to migrate to another area to attack when one area is being concentrated on,” Fajana stated.
The security expert described the statement of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on ensuring improved security in the country before leaving office as merely political.
He said, “The security agencies should begin to anticipate. It’s obvious that when security measures are taken to protect a particular area, the crime rate reduces. Look at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway for instance, when the security agents faced the area, criminal activities reduced drastically there.”
Similarly, another security expert, Akin Adeyi, described the president’s statement on the improved security situation as an insult to Nigerians’ individual and collective sensibilities.
He said it was unprofessional for the President to say that the security situation had improved because an unspecified number of people were abducted few days ago.
According to him, it is not the right time for Buhari to utter such statements because families of those that have been victims of one security situation or the other will never forgive him for such statement.
Adeyi stated, “With due respect to Mr President’s statement, some people were kidnapped in Edo State some days ago, and even the upcoming general elections are threatened due to insecurity in the country.”
