Reports of people connected with terrorist financing in Lagos State have prompted security experts to call for intensified intelligence gathering and hostile surveillance.
They said the authorities should act on the intelligence urgently to prevent any security threat, likening it to the long planning for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States.
The calls followed reports naming a Nigerian, Muhammad Mukhtar Adamu, as an alleged financier of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
His money exchange businesses were alleged in the report to have been used to channel funds for terrorist activities.
Security consultant Austen Panor told The Guardian that the reported intelligence should not be ignored, adding that Nigeria is still a high-risk country in terms of security.
“I think we’ve moved on from the debate about the implications of the report. The truth of the matter is that Nigeria is a high-risk country as rated by countries like the United States and Canada. “I do not know the parameters used in the assessment of Lagos as the safest state in Nigeria because the available security indicators do not support that conclusion,” he said.
Panor said that while the threats of terrorism, banditry and kidnapping may be relatively lower in Lagos than in some northern states, it does not automatically make the state a low-risk environment.
“The risk of banditry, kidnapping and terrorist attacks may be comparatively lower in Lagos, but that does not make the state low risk. “There are states, especially in the south, that are arguably safer,” he added.
Panor explained that people who finance terrorism can live anywhere in the world, noting that proactive intelligence operations are needed instead of reactive security measures.
“The priority is to beef up intelligence gathering and hostile surveillance. “Security agencies must properly monitor any person under investigation while lawful investigations are ongoing. “Effective intelligence is the key to preventing future attacks,” he said.
Mathew Ibadin, Chief Executive Officer, Badison Security also commenting, urged the Lagos State Government to beef up grassroots intelligence through the empowerment of Community Development Associations (CDAs) and better resident documentation.
“The report says Lagos needs to improve its security architecture considerably. Every Community Development Association should know sufficiently about its inhabitants. “Proper documentation of residents is vital to improving community-based intelligence,” he said.
Ibadin also called for increased investment in policing infrastructure such as patrol vehicles, gunboats and specialised intelligence units, even as he reaffirmed his support for state and local government policing structures.
He commended the Lagos State Commissioner of Police for efforts so far but urged the security agencies to step up their surveillance of vulnerable locations.
“The Commissioner of Police has been doing a commendable job but the security challenges keep evolving. “Crime is fundamentally local,” he said, “so government should invest more in intelligence capabilities, patrol assets and community policing structures.”
The security expert also demanded setting up of special courts or tribunals to fast track the prosecution of terrorism suspects and their alleged sponsors.
“Cases of terrorism financing must be concluded within a reasonable timeframe. “Delayed prosecutions erode deterrence and public confidence in the justice system,” he said.
He also urged political leaders to depoliticise security issues and to provide the political will to fight terrorism and related crimes effectively.
Asked how residents should react to the report, Ibadin called for more cooperation between citizens and security agencies but admitted that public confidence in law enforcement remained a challenge.
“There’s nothing wrong with international partners sharing intelligence. “Intelligence is only useful if communities are willing to trust security agencies enough to volunteer credible information,” he said.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police said he had not received the report when contacted for a reaction.
“I’m not aware of the report. “I have not been briefed, and I don’t have the report with me at the moment, said the police commissioner.
