Cooperation Among Security Agencies Panacea To Insecurity – Aregbesola

• Security agencies need to win the trust of the people.
• Fight against insurgency and kidnapping is asymmetric warfare.

Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, says lack of cooperation and synergy among security agencies has gravely hampered efforts to rid the country of insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and other forms of criminality.

Aregbesola said this on Thursday while delivering a speech at a national policy and development summit on Thursday in Abuja.

The one-day summit had ‘Nigeria’s Security Challenges and the Way Forward’ as its theme.

Aregbesola, who was represented by Joshua Ibiloye, his technical assistant, said terrorism and kidnapping, which was hitherto unheard of in Nigeria have now become pervasive.

He added that if security agencies continued to operate independently and in isolation, the war against insurgency and crime will persist, noting that the war is not a conventional one, hence the strategy should be different.

“We need to know that fighting asymmetric war is absolutely different from conventional war. The strategies should be different,” Aregbesola was quoted as saying.

“Fight against insurgency and kidnapping is asymmetric warfare where those engaged in them do not respect or comply with international laws of engagement. They kill women, children, and the aged.

“We are all at risk, thus, there is a need for synergy.

“We can’t win in such war unless and until security agencies synergise effectively and improve on intelligence gathering and sharing. We should be proactive than reactive”

He also harps on the need to gain the trust of the people if any inroad is to be made in addressing the country’s security challenges.

“Also, security agencies need to win the trust of the people through advocacy; at times, citizens do not trust security agencies, thus we need to win their trust to make us do better.”

He noted the need to end the proliferation of light weapons across the country so as to minimise or eliminate crimes.

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