TheCable

The National Conference Committee on National Security, headed by the former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Gambo Jimeta,  has proposed a series of radical reforms to improve internal security in the country.

Nigeria is currently facing serious security challenges, including terrorism, communal conflict, kidnapping and pipeline vandalism.

TheCable has seen a copy of the proposals which will soon be laid before the plenary session of the conference.

Some of the proposals are:

• the creation of Nigerian National Guard (NNG) Corps to handle internal conflicts and border control
• the establishment within NNG a Rapid Response Force to deal with emergencies at all levels ─ including communities and local government levels
• the abolition of the Ministry of Police Affairs, to be replaced by a Ministry of Homeland Security to coordinate National Guard, Nigeria Police Force, Civil Defence Corps and Nigeria Prisons Service
• the establishment of VIP protection Department in the Ministry of Homeland Security or Presidency
• the creation of Security and Intelligence Services Inspectorate and Disciplinary Service Commission (SISIDSC)
• setting up Japanese-style community policing
• deployment of the Civil Defence Corps nationwide up to the community level

The Gambo committee recommended that the present centralised police structure should remain – a proposal likely to be opposed by proponents of state police.

The committee, however, recommended that the police should be reformed “to make it more effective and representative of the federal character of the country”.

Other highlights of the committee’s recommendations include:

• upward review of the salary structure of the police
• removal of “absolute immunity” enjoyed by elected public officers because of its “security implications”
• discontinuation of the policy of early retirement of senior officers