Kuje Prison Attack Failure of Political Leadership, Not Military Incapability – MOSOP

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) says attacks on Kuje prison, Abuja and a presidential convoy in Katsina reflect a leadership failure on the part of the political class and not the inability of the military to defend the nation. Speaking in Port Harcourt on Thursday, July 7, 2022, the President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke said the failure of the political leadership was far more a bigger problem which cannot be shifted to the military whose capacity depends on budget allocations and decisions made by the political leadership.

The MOSOP statement which was signed by the Secretary-General of the organization, Alex Aori quoted Nsuke as saying:

 

“The political leadership decides the budget of the military and Police, they give the orders and decide what equipment can be available to the military and the police. So with the high profile political scandals we have seen about equipment purchases meant for the military, what can the military do without weapons to fight terrorists in times like this?” Nsuke asked.

 

He said the political class has converted the Nigeria Police into a private security apparatus with some 50 police officers attached to political office holders in some cases while Nigerians are left vulnerable at the mercy of bandits. He blamed the collapse of Nigeria’s internal security on the privatization of the Nigeria police whose primary responsibility is to provide internal security and protect citizens within the country.

 

“The security situation in Nigeria began to collapse with the privatisation of the Nigerian Police when one politician will have 50 police officers attached to him or her while Nigerians are left vulnerable. Today, the situation is worse and we are seeing the implications.” he said.

 

The MOSOP President called on concerned authorities in Nigeria to take strong actions against bandits noting that the lessons from the Kuje prison attack and that on the president’s team in Katsina is that nowhere and no one is safe in Nigeria today.

 

“The advise I can give is that there should be a strong action against terrorism now which should begin with boosting the morale and capacity of the police. This is important before bandits chase us all out of this country because we are actually heading in that direction” Nsuke further said.

 

The MOSOP president said Nigeria is gradually degenerating to the point where if urgent actions are not taken, the accumulation of police officers and armed men as private security for political office holders will no longer guarantee their safety.

 

“It is very disturbing that a presidential team and a maximum security prison will come under attack almost at the same time. This shows that a well coordinated terrorist network could be responsible and Nigeria cannot underestimate attacks of such magnitude because if we do, we will get to the point where our accumulation of police personnel for personal security will fail, the citizens will become more vulnerable and compelled to seek other avenues to protect themselves which could only worsen the situation and lead to chaos where no citizen can be guaranteed of his personal security”