Coming right after the attack on the Abuja/Kaduna rail line and kidnap of more than 100 travellers, terrorists again struck in Plateau State. This time, communities in Kanam and Wase Local Government Areas of the State, were attacked on Sunday, 10th April 2022, leaving scores of people dead, houses burnt to the ground and some people reportedly abducted and others displaced. Reacting to the terrorist attack, discussions arose on the spate of insecurity in the House of Representatives at plenary on 13th April 2022, where some members called for the sack of the National Security Adviser and the Defence Minister. This position by some legislators reflects the concern in the country about the failure and incompetence of the government of Muhammadu Buhari, to tackle the security problem in the country or indeed, several other national problems. Among others, legislators called for inter-agency collaboration to address the ravaging insecurity in the country.
The country has seen an incredibly high spike in banditry, killings, kidnapping and general breakdown of law and order in recent years. Thousands of Nigerians have been killed. Recent estimates puts the number of Nigerians killed in the first quarter of 2022 at over 1,500.
The call for sack of security chiefs is not new. Before the current military service chiefs were appointed, Nigerians widely called for the sack of their predecessors who were seen as incompetent and incapable of dealing with the nation’s security crisis. In addition, President Buhari was accused of keeping these security chiefs in office, well past legally permitted term limits. Their tenures were extended by the President without justification and they were kept in office despite multiple complaints against them. While a call on President Buhari to sack his security chiefs is a rightly placed, the bigger question is really whether the blame lies with these appointees or should actually lie with their appointer.