Two leading non-governmental organisations, the Civil Society Legislature Advocacy Centre and Transparency International, have called for a reform of the country’s security sector.
According to a communiqué issued at the end of a one-day summit on Inter-agency Roundtable on Security Sector Reforms in Nigeria on Sunday, the groups observed that security in the country was often seen as the protection of the political actors.
The communiqué read in part, “Nigerian leaders should be anxious to deliver quality governance to enhance social, cultural and economic security for the increasingly restless population. The functions and activities of the various security institutions should be streamlined to avoid conflict of roles.
“The security institutions should adopt information technology in order to enhance relevant security data and information storage. The security institutions should place emphasis on intelligence gathering for an effective policing system.
“Corruption should be holistically confronted within the policing system through sanctions for offenders and provision of better economic incentives for security personnel like insurance, social security and institutional capacity building.”
The Executive Director, CISLAC, Mr Auwal Musa-Rafsanjani, said there was the need to give necessary support to the country’s security agencies in order to find those causing unrest.
He said, “The #EndSARS protest is not just about the SARS issues, but the protest is about the collective concern of Nigerians looking for a total reform of the security sector.”