A former Inspector General (IG) of Police, Ibahim Commassie, on Thursday challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to disclose the identity of suspected sponsors of the Boko Haram sect.
Commassie who is a delegate and a co-chairman of the National Conference Committee on Devolution of Power, spoke yesterday in Abuja shortly after his committee embarked on a lunch break.
The President had claimed that not long ago at a church service in the nation’s capital that Boko Haram members had infiltrated his government.
But the former IGP charged him to mention names of such persons and also implement reports of the various committees on national security if he was serious about tackling the issue of terrorism.
He further advocated intelligence gathering mechanism, saying only that can forestall future attacks.
“We don’t know what is happening. I am not in government. We need some level of intelligence activities to contain the type of insurgency that we are seeing today,” he said.
“Government must employ adequate measures to protect its citizens. The primary purpose of government is there in the Constitution. When they say Boko-Haram members will be a thing of the past, has it really been the thing of the past?
“For how many years have the insurgency activities been on? The President also said that there are Boko-Haram in his government. But the question is: has he exposed them?
“Committees have been set up, about two or three of them have submitted their reports. One of the committees was headed by a Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu. The Deputy Chairman of this confab was a member.
“We don’t know what happened to the report. I think there is also another committee set up on the same issue. They have submitted their reports. So what is happening to those reports?”
On whether suspension of state Governors where a state of emergency has been declared would help contain the insurgency, the former police boss said “it depends on the parameter and facts available to the Governor”.
“In the case of a state of emergency declared in Plateu State during the era of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Governor there (Senator Joshua Dariye) clearly could not control the situation.
“An ex-military officer was appointed as sole administrator (retired Gen. Chris Ali) and I think he did something and restored law and order there.
“In this particular case in the North-East of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, their Governors have been doing their best.
“The Governor of Borno State (Kashim Shettima) came out to say that the insurgents have far more sophisticated weapons than our troops who are fighting them. That is an evidence that the Governors have been spending money to maintain the troops and policemen.”
On how to solve the insurgency menace, Commassie advised the government to “first of all, sit down with people who know security issues very well and let them find out what the problems are; who are these people (insurgents and their sponsors), who are killing people and destroying properties; what are the intelligence information available?
“What do these people want? If the government has the answers to some of these questions, they will be able to solve these problems of insurgency and terrorism in the country,” said Commasie.
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