Another Army With An Army, By Tunde Abatan

The announcement early last week by Chief Sunday Igboho, founder of the newly formed Iru Ekun, security outfit in the South West that the body has raised 80,000 volunteers willing to join the outfit is both a fundamental development that signals a resolve by a people to defend themselves.

That it came at a time of serious insecurity in the region occasioned by the spate of kidnappings, banditry and Terrorism by evil men within and mostly without the region, it is a signal that the people are resolved to nib insecurity in the region in the bud.

That such an outfit formed by an individual who few years ago sent packing criminals and bandits from his native town Igboho in the Oyo north axis of Oyo state received such overwhelming volunteers is an indication that if allowed the people of each of the six regions in Nigeria are ready to defend themselves without the use of conventional state actors like Police, Army and other security operatives.

Though the Iru Ekun militant outfit is for now not a state security actor, the support given it by the Federal government which reflected in the support of its initiative is an indication that as the FG did in the North East by permitting the set up of the Civilian Joint Task Force CJTF to fight Boko Haram which it had done well without mincing words, is an indication that Federal authorities has accepted the imperatives of involving locals in protection of communities similar to community policing.

Coming at a time when the National Assembly led by the Senate passed the State Police Bill, which when eventually passed by at least 24 state assembly empowers each state to have own police, Iru Ekun will definitely do what police could not do by sheer determination of its volunteers.

It is also significant to mention that the permission granted to Igboho in operating Iru Ekun is indirectly a go ahead to establish a local force with capacity to erase criminality by an approved non state actors by other region as being done by both CJTF and the Niger Delta militants who through both the Tanita security outfit and Asari Dokubo led militants are indirectly recognised as approved non state actors in both the North East and South South.

Operating Iru Ekun, which appears more focused and equipped to fight criminals is an open admission that the local outfit are better left to fight criminality within while the Armed Forces of Nigeria are saddled with protecting the country’s territorial integrity.

Iru Ekun as it appears is more equipped militarily to confront and contain criminals with sophisticated weapons while the Amotekun earlier formed by the six states in the South West may at the end of the day yield itself to the coming state police in combating civil matters and internal security since the Nigeria Police has limitations in men and resources to combat criminals like bandits, kidnappers and terrorists . It is clear from their modus operandi that the terrorists and bandits are out to invade, disposes and occupy others territories without regard to indigenous people who own their territory.

In other words, as Igboho declared after he freed two Oyo women kidnapped by Fulani terrorists three weeks ago in Oyo, the Iru Ekun mandate may be to root out both internal and external criminals and bandits from the forests in region and assert the right of indigenous people all over the region and by extension other parts of the country to control their territories .

He made a declaration to that effect few weeks before the rescue of the 38 Oriire kidnap victims by the country’s combined security forces.

Today in Nigeria, in the face of apparent threats posed by bandits, kidnappers and terrorists, the total size of active personnel of the Armed Forces-Army, Navy and Air force is 215,000 while the Nigeria Police Force has 371,800 ,all serving a population of 220 million.

This figure indicates a ratio of roughly one police officer per 650 citizens which falls short of United Nations recommendation benchmark of one officer per 460 citizens.

Recently, a United states agency claimed that over 30,000 armed militants have entered the country from both the Sahel region and other states into Nigeria obviously to pursue terrorists agenda armed with sophisticated weapons than the Nigerian armed forces.

The Nigeria Police it is obvious cannot stand an average terrorists in terms of equipment and training.

 This is because the men of Nigeria Police are not trained to fight insurgency.

For effect, the Nigerian Army recently announced its intention to include counter terrorism in its curricula since they are not trained for such.

This obviously is an admission by the Nigerian state that terrorism has come to stay with us and thus reinforced the need to be prepared.

The real challenge now is how to streamline the activities of the various approved non state security actors in the country in order to prevent them from waging war against the state they are meant to safeguard and protect.

Since the National Assembly has decided to work out modalities against the misuse of State Police by Governors, it behooves on it to also regulate activities of recognised non state actors like Iru Ekun, Civilian Joint Task Force, Niger Delta militants and their South East counterparts to prevent their misuse given the diversity of the country and its indigenous challenges.

It also poses a challenge to Nigeria Immigration Services to monitor curtail the influx of foreign terrorists into the country with clear intent for destabilization coupled with known religious and territorial ambition of Fulani terrorists who are poised to advance their domination of the Nigeria landscape to implement archaic agenda of dipping the Koran into the sea and implications of such to the Nigerian state with inherent diversities the country is graphing with 66 years after independence.

Hence, it is obvious that the Department of Immigration has a challenge to police our borders to justify their establishment.

On this account, something has to be done to effect active policing of the Northern borders through which most of the insurgents enter the country.