Against the backdrop of the growing insecurity situation in the country, the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, reaffirmed on Monday that the ban on the unauthorized use of military camouflage was still in full force.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by the Director (Information, Press & Public Relations), Mr. Henshaw Ogubike, Federal Ministry of Defence, the Minister insisted that “only the Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force, while on joint operations with the Military, are allowed by law to use military camouflage.”
According to the statement, “the Minister’s clarification is coming at this time when criminals disguise themselves as military and paramilitary personnel to cause havoc in society.
“The present situation does not support the use of military camouflage by people who are not authorized or not personnel of DHQ.
“The criminals among us have taken advantage of the military, police, and other security agencies’ gear to perpetrate crimes.
The Minister emphasized the need to streamline the personnel authorized to use military camouflage.
He said the government’s ban on other paramilitary agencies from using military camouflage was to bring sanity to the system and also as a way of checking criminal activities.
Dr. Matawalle emphasized the readiness of the Nigeria Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police to enforce the directive given by the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, regarding the immediate cessation of the use of camouflage uniforms by paramilitary agencies.
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“The circular titled Observation on Proliferation in the Use of Camouflage Uniforms by Other Security Agencies in Nigeria,” personally signed by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, mandated personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and the Federal Fire Service, among others, to discontinue the use of camouflage uniforms henceforth, following the directive issued by ONSA.
Accordingly, the Minister stated that the use of camouflage uniform by various security agencies other than the Armed Forces, namely the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, remains banned.
He, however, gave an exception to the use by the Nigerian Police Force, which he said “they can only use when on joint operations with the Military.
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He said that the enforcement of the ban becomes imperative in view of the security implications and concerns raised on the clamor of duplicity and proliferation in the country.
According to him, “the measure is aimed at checkmating the crime rate in Nigeria, adding that if we identify those that are authorized to use the camouflage, we can quickly differentiate them from criminals that intend to confuse us,” he said.
Dr. Matawalle said that henceforth, extant laws guiding the use of camouflage uniforms in Nigeria would strictly be enforced.