Why terrorists thrive in Nigeria –SSS boss

The Sun

18 Feb 2011

Why terrorists thrive in Nigeria –SSS boss

A retired director of the State Security Service (SSS), Mr. Mike Ejiofor, says terrorism will be a hard nut to crack in Nigeria until extant laws for effective prosecution of suspects are put in place.

He also identified rivalry among security agencies in the country as the bane of effective and efficient security sevices in the country. The ex-SSS chief, who expressed concerns over the rising state of insecurity across the country and its consequences for the April general elections, therefore, called on the Federal Government to facilitate the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Bill by the National Assembly.

He made the remarks in a statement signed personally by him and issued yesterday in Abuja. The statement reads: “Now is the time for increased allocation to the security agencies to enable them procure modern security equipment to tackle modern crimes currently ravaging the country. Besides, the forthcoming 2011 general elections is critical to the survival of this country.

“The Nigerian Governors’ forum (NGF) should establish a Consolidated Security Fund for all the security agencies. “The Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu had earlier propounded this position and it has become necessary in view of the inter-relatedness of the security threats in each of the states of the federation.

“Multi-nationals in Nigeria, as part of their corporate social responsibilities should increase their assistance to the security agencies through financial support and procurement of modern security equipment,” he pointed out.