By Achadu Gabriel
Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has assured that the House leadership will ensure adequate funding for intelligence gathering in order to curtail insecurity in Nigeria.
The Speaker gave the assurance at a one-day public hearing on a bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Security and Intelligence Trust Fund to provide funding for security-related issues.
The pot of money, he said, is aside the usual budgetary provision from the Federation Account to aid interventions to combat security issues in the country.
He spoke during the hearing organized by the House Committee on Security and Intelligence in Abuja.
The Speaker, who was represented by Hon. Victor Nwokolo, said insecurity has been a major threat to Nigeria leading to the loss of lives and properties.
He said despite the challenges, the security agencies have continued to work with the meager resources at their disposal, hence the need for everyone to support the bill to succeed.
Earlier, in his remarks, sponsor of the bill, who is also Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ahmed Satomi, commended all the agencies and stakeholders who attended the hearing, noting that the bill will help address the security challenges bedeviling the country by providing funds for training, research and development for security agencies.
He said kinetic approach alone does not guarantee peace and security, asserting that the application of non-kinetic approaches, such as the funding of intelligence-gathering mechanisms, will go a long way in ensuring the security of lives and properties of Nigerians.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen shortly after the public hearing, Commandant General of Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN), Navy Captain Umar Bakori (rtd), said the public hearing was apt and timely considering the sacrifices made by members of VGN who are present in all of the country’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and had been using their personal resources to fight insecurity nationwide.
Navy Captain Bakori said when established, the National Security and Intelligence Trust Fund will go a long way in providing financial support to security organizations like the VGN.
While commenting on the bill which also seeks to give legal teeth to the VGN, the Commandant General pointed out that participants were very optimistic that the bill will see the light of day.
Stakeholders present at the event included members of the Armed Forces, the Police, Nigerian Customs Service, Department of State Services (DSS), Ministry of Defence and VGN, among others, who submitted their positions on the bill.
