Nigerian Security Agencies: A World of Mutual Suspicion

President Goodluck Jonathan

It is a regime of no-love-lost among the nation’s intelligence agencies. This twist came to light last year when President Goodluck Jonathan, as a way of moving fast in responding to the bombing of Mugadishu Barracks, Abuja, directed that funds be released for the procurement of modern security gadgets, including closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to be mounted in Abuja.

THISDAY gathered that the money, as directed by the president, was released for the purpose it was meant, to the Office of the Inspector General of Police (IG). However, the management of the fund became an issue that stoked the in-fighting among the security agencies in the country as its handling by Ringim did not go down well with them.

As a corollary, it was even rumoured within the security circle that intelligence sharing among the agencies suffered some drawbacks at the highest levels. This, it was gathered, might have opened the window for the bombers to successfully carry out their operation on June 16 at the Police Headquarters.

Investigations by THISDAY revealed that this development is giving Jonathan grave concern and may intervene soon to end the unhealthy rivalry among the intelligence agencies. 

The newspaper learnt that the expected cooperation needed by these agencies to tackle the menace has not been forthcoming and has been affecting their effectiveness.

This is why nine clear days before the bombers struck last Friday at the United Nations House, federal agencies knew about it but could not nip it in the bud because of some avoidable bickering “over who is in-charge of what and who controls what”.

The development has led to the challenge of coordination of the agencies resulting in bad management of even available information. 

For instance, a few days after the UN House attack, there was a meeting of the security agencies with the diplomatic community.  At the end of the parley, THISDAY also gathered that there was an agreement that the president should be persuaded to address the nations on the security threats and assure all that he government was up to the task of arresting the situation.

He was to announce the various strategies agreed to at the meeting as steps his administration would pursue to check the threat of the terrorists. One of the points he was billed to announce to Nigerians and the international community was the fact that arrests were already made after the UN House attack.

“One of the plans was for the president to brief the nation on the findings on the August 26 bombing and use it to assure Nigerians and the international community that the Federal Government was on top of the situation and to reassure investors on the government’s ability to handle the challenge,” a source told THISDAY.

But the IG, Hafiz Ringim, in what was supposed to be a behind-the-camera briefing of the diplomats and against the agreed method, announced the arrests, thus making nonsense of the proposed presidential briefing.  He also said the president would still brief the nation.

THISDAY source said: “We are competing for space for credit, not work. What was there again for the president to say after the IG has announced the arrests?”

He further said:  “Just as the intelligence agencies have penetrated the Boko Haram sect, the group has equally moved into the ranks of the agencies, because they quickly adjust their strategy almost as simultaneous as we plan against them.”