Gombe State launches ‘operation Hattara’
By Ben Ngwakwe Gombe
On August 9, the “Operation Hattara” meaning “be careful” was launched by Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya at the 1st Gombe State peace and Security Summit 2022.
The aim of operation Hattara is to improve the security in Gombe State, to reduce the menace of kalare, banditry, kidnapping and criminal elements in the state and to complement the existing security agencies in the state.
The summit was tagged “mitigating contemporary security challenges for sustainable socio- economic development,
Our correspondent reports that the three- Day Summit would be rounded off with the communique and presentation of certificates to the participants in the state.
Yahaya in his speech on Tuesday while declaring open the long-awaited Gombe State Peace and Security Summit expressed his sincere appreciation to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, who in spite of his water-tight schedules decided to travel from Abuja to attend the summit in person.
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“No doubt, his being physical presence is a strong testimony to his resolute commitment to finding lasting solutions to all internal security challenges facing the country,” the Governor noted.
“The Gombe State Security and Peace Summit was convened by this administration under my leadership to provide an opportunity for a carefully selected cohort of experts, security personnel, government officials and other strategic stakeholders and community leaders to aggregate and explore pressing internal security issues with a view to identifying new security and community pathways of mitigating them for lasting peace and stability.”
Convinced by theme of the summit, the calibre of resource persons invited, the security personnel and strategic stakeholders participating in the summit, the Governor pointed out that they would be able to chart a new direction for mitigating internal security matters not only in Gombe State but in the country as a whole.
The Governor explained that the country is passing through a delicate period of immense security and economic challenges and risks.
He said, “Criminal elements all over the country are united in their determination to threaten our common values, destroy our means of livelihood and make life brutish and miserable for our people. Since the year 2010, our gallant security forces have been battling to contain a brutal insurgency waged by the Boko Haram terrorists in Borno which rapidly spread to other states in the North-East, North-Central and North-West Subregions.”
Adding further, “although the collective efforts of our men and women in uniform has succeeded in stopping the bombing campaigns of the Boko Haram insurgents, the colossal human and economic damage caused to our communities is still with us.
” While the country was struggling to arrest the menace of Boko Haram in the North-East, another security threat, rural banditry, emerged in some parts of North-Central and North-Western Nigeria. Armed banditry which began as a simple competition for scarce land resources between itinerant pastoralists and farmers soon metamorphosed into a serious armed conflict and criminality with huge human and economic costs. Fuelled by climate change, population growth, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, ethnicity and other factors, banditry and kidnapping have reached alarming proportions in many states of the federation. Other security threats such as armed separatist agitations and militancy in the South-East and South-South are significant security issues of great concern.
“Although the present security situation in the country is generally precarious, Gombe State is relatively secure and peaceful. For instance, if we take a look at the Nigeria Security Tracker published monthly by Eons Intelligence (A reputable Risk and Security Consulting Organisation) Gombe State has recorded the least incidences of killings, kidnapping and other violent crimes during the first quarter of this year (2022) – thanks to the combined efforts of our security agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
” However, it is imperative to note that Gombe State is not immune and insulated from happenings in other parts of the country. We have our own share of local security threats fuelled by political thuggery, youth restlessness and unemployment which led to the emergence of the notorious Kalare group. The proliferation of local militia groups therefore calls for a proactive approach in dealing with these emerging threats and applying local strategies for tackling them.
“By being proactive, our administration is able to contain the menace of political thuggery and youth restlessness to the barest minimum through the combined efforts of the political class, security agencies, community, religious and traditional institutions. Thus, preventing it from metamorphosing into another criminal group. It is in this regard that we established the Gombe State Security, Traffic and Environmental Corp (GOSTEC) were we aim to employ not less than 2000 youths with the first batch of 500 corps already engaged to support the statutory agencies in the state in maintaining law and order.
“This home grown initiative is aimed at harnessing the energies of our youths in state building in line with our human capital development initiative. To consolidate on this gains, we are once again collaborating with the relevant security agencies to launch a special security task force to be named as Operation Hattara which would be unveiled by the IGP today with the purpose of reinforcing our security architecture in and around Gombe State.
“The Gombe State Security and Peace Summit is part of our government’s strategies of building and enhancing strategic partnerships for an effective internal security governance.”
The Governor explained further that his administration established the first Ministry of Internal Security and Ethical Orientation in order to provide an institutional framework at the state level to support Federal Government Security Agencies, while also providing a framework for proactive resolution of conflict.
He added that the decision to establish the Ministry is yielding great results, as evidenced by the decreasing rates of violent crimes and conflicts in the state.
To further strengthen the security and crime prevention system, the Governor said they introduced new mechanisms for informal intelligence gathering and established the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre at Boltongo for regular training of the youth on informal intelligence gathering and early warning indicators.
“Similarly, we increased the level of involvement of traditional authorities in dispute resolution and security management in their communities. We also established security committees with dedicated telephone lines for reporting security breaches and potential threats by members of the public. Furthermore, I appointed and empowered three Security Advisers; one each from the Military, Police and Intelligence Service backgrounds to achieve greater cooperation and collaboration between the government and federal security agencies.
“For all these measures to lead to lasting peace and security, we must establish and sustain an effective partnership between the security agencies and the public. To develop this partnership, it is critical that we gain the support, understanding and cooperation of strategic stakeholders in the state.
“Also important is building a consensus between strategic security stakeholders and the security agencies on both preventive actions and how to respond to crime situations,” Yahaya said.
He candidly hoped that the summit would recommend practical steps to be taken to achieve all these, thus, the inputs, experiences and suggestions are really important to both achieving the objectives of the Security and Peace Summit and to improving the internal security management system generally.
Yahaya thanked the Inspector General of Police for finding the time to attend the event and the Commissioner of Police, Gombe State Police Command, the Commander 301 Artillery Regiment, Gombe, the Director Department of State Service and all heads of security formations and units in Gombe for their continued support and good work to the people of Gombe State.
He added, “This summit would not have been possible without the technical support of the Counter Fraud Centre, under the able leadership of AIG (Rtd.) Zubairu Muazu (Ubandoman Gombe).”
He expressed appreciation to the AIG retired and his centre for their relentless support and strategic partnership with the government of Gombe State.
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