Insecurity: Senate President seeks security sector reform

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has said the country was in urgent need of review of its security architecture to meet up with democratic norms and principles of good observance.

He made the remarks on Tuesday while inaugurating a 17-man ad-hoc committee to be chaired by the Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi.

Other members of the Committee were the Senate Minority leader, Eyinnaya Abaribe; Senate deputy chief whip, Sabi Abdullahi; Senators Ali Ndume, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and Haliru Dauda Jika.

Also in the team were Senators Bala IBN Na’Allah, George Thomson Sekimo, Ibrahim Gobir, Suleiman Kwari, Kabiru Gaya and Abba Moro.

The President of the Senate noted that in the envisaged security reform, respect for the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and public trust must be sacrosanct.

He said:” It is well known that Security Sector Governance (SSG) aims at elaborating rules that set standards for state and human security by applying the principle of good governance to the security sector.

‘’This makes security provision, oversight, and management more effective and more accountable, within the framework of democratic civilian control. It means that institutions fulfill their respective roles and responsibilities to a high professional standard based on Good Security Sector Governance standard and best practices.

‘’Certain Fundamental principles must be adhered to in order to ensure that the provision of security is under pined by democratic values. The Legislature also further seeks a Security Sector Reform (SSR) that will transform the Security Sector and assign roles and responsibilities in a manner that is consistent with democratic norms and the principles of good governance. These principles include respect for the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and public trust.

ALSO READ: Turkey says no intention for conflict with Russia after Idlib attack

‘’The Nation must initiate the process to formulate or re-orient the policies, structures, and capacities of institutions and groups engaged in the Security Sector in order to make them more effective, efficient, accountable, and responsive to democratic control and to the security and justice needs of the people.”

The Senate President who restated lawmakers’ concern over the security challenges facing the country declared that no meaningful economic development could be achieved in a nation at the mercy of bandits, kidnappers, and insurgents.

‘’We must recognize the interrelations between the qualities of Security Sector Governance (SSG) within the context of sustainable development as no Nation can develop in the face of gross insecurity.

‘’All hands must be on deck to contribute towards ensuring Good Security Sector Governance (SSG) that will promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

‘’I, therefore, call on the Members of the Ad-Hoc Committee to be rigorous in their assignment in order to deepen the understanding of the nature of the security crisis, have a realistic assessment of the problem and proffer workable solution.”

Senator George Sekibo, in his acceptance speech, expressed appreciation to the Senate President for finding them worthy to serve.

” We thank you for coming out personally to inaugurate the Committee.

”We have made comments on the issue on that date of the debate.

Naturally, you could have made your recommendations to the Executive based on that but you still found it necessary to seize the initiative to set up an ad-hoc Committee.”