Colonel John Mbanefor, Commander of the 301 Regiment of the Nigerian Army in Gombe, has called for the effective training and equipping of the Nigeria Police Force in order to enable it to carry out its critical constitutional mandate of providing internal security.
Mbanefor told members of course 15 of the Institute of Security Studies Abuja’s Executive Intelligence Management Course on Monday at the 301 headquarters that authorities’ failure to adequately fund and equip the police has undoubtedly harmed its performance, necessitating the military’s intervention in internal security matters.
He said, “The military, which is basically trained in war and with the core mandate of protecting the sovereignty of the country against external aggression, is being overstressed in internal security matters with no room for training and retraining as required to keep troops in tune with modern war strategies.”
Commenting on the security situation in Gombe State, Mbanefor said though the state is relatively peaceful when compared to its neighbours, he noted that the threat to peace remains real.
He explained that activities of political thugs, kidnapping and migration of criminal elements from other parts of the country have remained major security concerns.
He also noted that the location of the state in the centre of the North-East has been exploited by insurgents for their logistics supplies but assured that with the quality synergy among the security agencies in the state and the support of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, efforts would be sustained to secure the state.
Earlier, the Faculty spokesperson of the National Institute of Security Studies Abuja, Dr. Nka Obi-Bisong, informed the Commander that the team was in the state on a study tour to assess the impact of climate change and global warming on security and the socio-economic wellbeing of the people.