The National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, says intelligence remains the most effective instrument in fighting insurgency and banditry.
Monguno stated this on Friday, in Abuja while speaking at the public presentation of a research report titled ‘Terrorism and Banditry: The Nexus’; conducted by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF).
The NSA, who is one of the panelists at the event, said that evolvement witnessed globally in the 21 century had made tackling insecurity more difficult, hence the need for intelligence.
He said that while intelligence came in various ways including human intelligence, technical intelligence, cyber intelligence and others, human intelligence derived from the local community remained the most important.
Monguno said that what Nigeria needed to do in tackling its current security challenge was to learn from the experience of developed countries.
According to him, while intelligence comes in various layers it must be fused together and acted upon timely, saying intelligence in itself has a very short shelf life.
Another member of the panelist, Crisis Group’s Nigeria Senior Adviser, Nnamdi Obasi, stressed the need to scale up security presence in the country, especially the ungoverned areas.
Obasi also stressed the need to improve on humanitarian assistance to those affected by insecurity.
On his part, a former Director of the Department of State Services, Mike Ejiofor, stressed the need to improve the capacity of security agencies and deal with the issue of bad eggs among security agencies.
Dr Chris Kwaja, a researcher, making a public presentation of the report said that its research focused on four key states in the North West- Kaduna, Kastina, Niger and Zamfara.
He said that research identified social economy, farmers-herders, failure of government institutions, insufficient policing system, as we as geography and topography as five factors that drive banditry.
Kwaja said that the report also listed the effects of banditry in the states as the devastation of communities, threats to food security, further imperils and worsen economic outlook.
Kwaje said that the report on ways to address banditry and terrorism in Nigeria recommended the need to review ECOWAS protocol on transhumance, undertaking of research and studies, and to raise community security awareness.
He said that the report also recommended supporting boarder management bodies in Nigeria, the Niger Republic and Benin Republic as well as targeted social-economic intervention to ameliorate poverty and lack opportunities.(NAN)
NAN
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