As the Nigerian military clears out what is left of insurgency in the country, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has called for the active engagement of all Nigerian citizens in civil intelligence gathering to ensure a speedy and final eradication of insurgency.
Director General of NOA, Garba Abari made the call at a 5-day training programme on “Civil Intelligence Information Gathering and Community Policing” organized by the Agency for members of the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) Brigade at the National Youth Service Corps Orientation Camp in Bauchi State.
In his words: “The times we live in today place a serious demand on citizens across board to support our security agencies, especially in the area of civil intelligence gathering… The responsibility for keeping our country safe and secure does not rest in the hands of security agencies alone. We all have roles to play in assisting security agencies to keep and maintain a secure country where members of the public can safely conduct their businesses and live their lives without fear”. He therefore urged members of the public to report suspicious movements to relevant security agencies whenever they notice such around their neighborhoods.
While commending the public support enjoyed by the WAI Brigade in the face of low budgetary provisions, the NOA Director General appealed to government at all levels to make adequate budgetary provisions for WAI brigade and to upscale the utilization of the brigade in civil intelligence gathering, crowd control and other civil security duties.
Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, represented by the Bauchi State Head of Service, Alhaji Liman Bello, pledged the continued support of the government and people of Bauchi State for WAI Brigade in the State and also for the attainment of the overall Change objective of the Mohammadu Buhari administration which he commended for repositioning the Brigade.
The National Security Adviser, Brig. Gen. B. N. Monguno represented by Alhaji Abba Umar, in a keynote address on “Achieving Positive Change Through Civil Intelligence Gathering”, urged the WAI Brigade to leverage the strength of its reach in every Local Government and Ward of the country by focusing on town hall engagements and background checks on individuals in the community.
The WAI Brigade National Commander, Mohammed Mustapha in his remarks, pledged the Brigade’s commitment to remain agents of positive change in their respective communities. Over 2000 WAI brigadiers drawn from across the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT participated in the training.