Insurgency: Ex-COAS Blames Non-Functional Police Force

A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), said the failure of the Nigeria Police Force to discharge its statutory resposnibilty of maintaining internal law and order, paved the way for the army to take over in the Northeast where Boko Haram insurgents have crippled the socio-economic activities.

‎the ex-army chief stated this shortly after delivering a lecture entitled: “Education, Security and National Development: The Case of Nigeria” Wednesday, at the 61st Interdisciplinary Research Discourse organised by the Post Graduate School, University of Ibadan.

Dambazau noted that the failure of the Nigeria Police was responsible for the deployment of soldiers to some sensitive parts of the country.

“The activities of Boko Haram have affected the education of the Northeast and it’s spreading across the whole of northern region. Security is a contemporary challenge we are facing as a nation. The world can never have peace except people have peace in their daily lives.

“It will impossible for nations to achieve any of its major goals without adequate security. We don’t have a functional law enforcement institution in this country and it’s a major problem for the nation”, he said

The former army chief stressed that there would have been no need for soldiers to mount road blocks and stay in check points if the police had discharged its duty effectively.