BORDER CLOSURE CONTRIBUTED ABOUT 25% TO INCREASED CRIME RATE- HURIWA
Oru Leonard
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has said that the border closure which the Federal Government of Nigeria put in place since August 2020 has caused the crime rate in Nigeria to increase by 25%.
HURIWA stated this through the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko during a press briefing with journalists on the security situation of the nation.
Onwubiko then called for a state of emergency in Nigeria, following the incessant kidnapping and armed banditry in many parts of the country.
HURIWA also called for the sack of all the heads of security architecture, especially internal security—Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Inspector General of Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), noting that they have all failed to curb the security issues in the country. He wondered why guns are everywhere and cheap to get..
“Due to the border closure, a lot of legitimate businesses have suffered and the government has pushed people into crime by closing the borders.
“What happened after the #EndSARS protest showed that Nigeria does not have a strong policing system, adding that the issue of ghost workers in the Nigeria Police Force should be investigated.
“The positive thing about what happened after the #EndSARS protest shows that Nigeria does not have a strong policing system. Where were the policemen when the hoodlums were attacking? There is a problem of ghost police in Nigeria and it should be investigated”, HURIWA lamented.
On the capacity of the police HURIWA stated, “The major security crisis is because they tell us lies about the number of Policemen recruited. Let us know the number of Police recruited. Where are they, how many are they? We are calling for a personnel audit, regrettably, we don’t have a vibrant National Assembly, as the people there are not doing their statutory oversight functions.”
HURIWA recommended that a thorough personnel audit should be carried out to know if Nigeria truly has Police where they are needed; and technology should be deployed to fight crime.
Again tha the justice delivery system be hastened; the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu be sacked as he has failed in his statutory duties;
Furthermore, that the entire Security apparatus be reorganised: “The National Assembly should face its statutory duties squarely and stop chasing contracts.”
