Security as rocket science

Over the weekend, residents of Ijagba in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo protested the persistent attacks and kidnapping of the people of…

Over the weekend, residents of Ijagba in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo protested the persistent attacks and kidnapping of the people of the communities. A community leader, Sunday Ogoh, said two town residents, Ohiremen Isaac Odeh and Solomon Isaac Odeh, were abducted three days before the protest. While the father was killed, the son was released after a ransom payment of ₦400,000 ($524.25). He also said the assailants killed the younger brother of the lawmaker representing the federal constituency, Hon. Timehin Adelegbe, after collecting a ransom. Mr Ogoh said the community lost more than 20 members to criminals in two years.

5 June was the first anniversary of a dastardly attack that cost the lives of 50 people in a church in Owo, 50km away from Ijagba. Before the attack, the state, unofficially known as the kidnap capital of South West Nigeria, had been battling multiple security threats that ran the gamut from gang violence to jihadist threats. Owo was one of the few local government areas with low violence rates. It has joined a list of imperilled LGAs, including Akoko North East, Akure North, and Odigbo. Before the regional security outfit Amotekun was set up in 2019, Ondo was a hotbed of kidnap activities blamed on armed militant Fulani criminal groups, a situation which came to a head when Funke Olakunrin, daughter of former Afenifere leader, Reuben Fasoranti, was killed along the Benin-Ore Road. The creation of Amotekun has not stemmed the violence. Despite a government vacation order, the state’s extensive forests remain staging areas for criminal groups. Therein lies the lesson: Nigeria’s political elites have a culture of declaring problems away. These declarations are routinely ignored. When they are not, a succession of activities bordering on quasi-implementation offers a semblance of action that quickly makes way for a reversion to the status quo. In Ondo’s case, what makes this even more precarious is that its state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has been seriously ill, and his failure to transfer power to his deputy until last week effectively has robbed the state of decisive leadership. Mr Akeredolu’s health and presence have important implications for his state and the region. He is the chairman of the Western Nigeria Security Network that birthed Amotekun and had been at the forefront of the fight against the Buhari Administration’s refusal to grant licences to purchase standard weapons for Amotekun operatives. The success or failure of the regional vigilante idea is tied largely to this, alongside the dearth of collaboration between them and regular state forces. This unhealthy rivalry and competition between federal and state governments can only be described as a failure to acknowledge or understand strategic security. The Akoko areas are a gateway for the South-South and South-West into the North Central geopolitical zone, particularly the Federal Capital Territory through Kogi State. Failure to rein in insecurity has directly threatened the security of the country’s capital with its Kogi buffer in an equally terrible state of security. This is a problem that counterterrorism operations can solve only by half. Amotekun, more a ragtag militia than a structured and trained force, must receive the training, tools, and recruitment support it needs to excel at modern-day policing. Simply put, the governors and legislators must liaise with the presidency to make this happen. Until close coordination between community vigilantes, Amotekun and the police is strengthened, these attacks on communities won’t operate in silos as state security outfits seem content to.