Nigerian Army Overstretched – House committee
Chima Azubuike, Gombe
According to the chairman of the committee, Hon. Namdas Abdulrazak, the primary function of the military is territorial protection and not to quel mayhem.
Abdulrazak stated this on Monday in Gombe, when he led members of the committee on a visit to the deputy governor, after undertaking oversight responsibility in the state.
He added that out of 36 states of the federation the army is currently discharging active roles in 34 states.
The chairman said, “We are here to perform our oversight duties as enshrined in the constitution of 1999 as amended. The narrative out there is either that the army is either over funded or underfunded depending on who is on the narrative. CSO’s, political analyst always feel that much is given to the armed forces and they have not shown much accountability.
“From the little we have seen the Nigerian army is prepared to face the challenges given the necessary cooperation by both the federal and state government.
” Everyone knows that the constitutional role of the Nigerian army, is to protect territorial integrity, of course once there are security challenges that are quite beyond the capacity of the police, DSS and other security agencies the president of the federal republic of Nigeria under section 27 sub section 2, has every right to invite the army to come and solve some internal crisis.
“The army is in 34 out of 36 states handling one security issue or the other. There is no zone, because only 2 States are left out settling the issues of armed banditry, cattle rustling, Boko Haram or insurgency. So the hands of the army are already full. We are of the opinion that we should not reduce the army to doing police duties. It is police job to solve some of the internal crisis. We urge the federal government to train and equip the police very well.”
On his part, the Deputy Governor of Gombe state Dr. Manassah Jatau said, the state will continue to provide enabling environment for peace and safety, adding that the relationship between the state and the Nigerian army has been cordial.
He added that, “We have donated our NYSC camp to the military which is used by operation safe corridor to rehabilitation and reorientation of former Boko Haram members.
“We have also come to understand that leaving security to the security men will mean leaving so many things unattended to.”
