He pleaded with Nigerians to accept military presence in the society which is becoming a routine pattern. He, however, admitted that military intervention in internal security is affecting its professionalism. He said terrorism has raised the flag of security demands to levels higher than the nation had witnessed since the civil war
Dasuki, who opened up at a session on National Civil-Military Dialogue in Ajuji Hotel, Abuja, urged Nigerians to assist the military to provide information which could assist in the fight against insurgents, terrorists and all other forms of criminality
Continue
He said: “The past decade has witnessed multiple forms of unrest-from armed robbery, kidnapping, electoral, communal to ethno-religious violence.
“Currently, we are battling with insurgency and terrorism. This has raised the flag of security demands to levels higher than we have witnessed since the civil war. It has meant that the military are seeing more deployments in aid of civil authority than anticipated.
“While it is the function of the military to assist civilian authority to handle civil disobedience, it is assumed that such rules would be carried out only when the capacity of the police is overwhelmed. Policing the domestic arena is not the duty of the military, whose training is directed against external enemies of the state.
“However, our recent history has seen the military in joint activities with other para-military outfits currently in about 28 states. In addition, the military is involved in checking armed robbery and other crimes on interstate roads.
“From mere intervention to assisting the police quell domestic violence; the military is now fighting the scourge of insurgency and terrorism. Thus, the military presence in our society is becoming routine. While this affects the level of professionalism of the military, it also generates new dimensions of conflicts between the military and civilian populace.”
Source
No comments:
Post a Comment