The House of Representatives has called for the review of the policies, protocols, and procedures for the purchase of arms, ammunition and related hardware by Nigeria’s security agencies.
The House has also urged the federal government to review the guidelines and systems for training officers of the Nigeria Army, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigeria Correctional Services(NCS).
While resolving to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the quality and quantity of arms procured by the named security agencies in the last 10 years, the House further urged the federal government to appraise the armoury and weapons control mechanisms currently being implemented by the security agencies.
This was sequel to a motion on the “Need to Review the Purchase, Use and Control of Arms, Ammunition, and Related Hardware by Military, Paramilitary and Other Law Enforcement Agencies in Nigeria”, jointly sponsored by Hon. Ibrahim Almustapha Aliyu and Hon. Olaide Akinremi on Tuesday.
“There has been an increase in the deployment of officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDCD), the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) to perform internal security functions, often at variance with their core competence, training and mandate,” Aliyu who moved the motion said.
He said with the increase in number of armed deployments in response to the multifaceted internal security challenges across the country, there has also been a significant increase in the demand for arms, ammunition and related hardware by the various paramilitary forces in the country.
He therefore expressed concerns that with the rise in deployment of armed paramilitary officers across the country, there has been a commensurate upsurge in incidents of interactions between armed personnel and citizens, resulting in injury, deaths and several allegations of diverse misconduct and abuses.
“There are no standard guidelines across the various paramilitary agencies for the training of officers in proper gun use, management and safety, with the effect that too many of the armed officers interacting with citizens do not have the right training, thus endangering the people they are meant to protect,” he said..