By Correspondent in Minna
The Department of State Security Services (DSS), Niger state has described reports portraying the state as ‘unsecure’ is far from the present realities on ground because it does not reflect the exact picture on ground.
The Deputy Director of the Command, Mr Martins Eze, who made the declaration at the 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Minna Branch, was however quick to add that, ‘security situation varies from different parts of the state’.
The DSS second in command in Niger state, who spoke on the theme; “Security and its Challenges: The Engineering Perspective”, said the fact that some parts of Niger state was volatile did not mean that the entire state could be said to be ‘unsafe’.
Eze, acknowledging the fact that some parts of the state were not as safe as others, advised citizens and visitors alike not to generalize armed banditry, kidnapping and other forms of crime and criminality in the state, adding that Niger state is ‘generally safe’.
“On the general security profile of Niger state, let me categorically say that the situation is not as bad as people project it. I always tell people that Niger state is safe. The truth, however, is that certain areas are safer than others”.
Armed banditry as it entails is more pronounced in places in zone ‘C’ (Niger-North, this according to Martins Eze is just one out of the three senatorial zones that made up Niger state,hence the entire state could be claimed to be unsafe.
According to Eze, “Niger state is not as insecure as most people will try to make us believe. There are areas where we have challenges and those challenges revolve around things like; kidnapping, armed banditry, armed robbery, violent crimes and ritual killings”.
“There is also a mixture of; armed banditry, Boko-Haram and ISWAP in certain locations but the fact of the matter is that,there is no part of the country that doesn’t have one form of security challenge or the other,it is managing and Niger state is not an exception,”he said
The Deputy Commander nevertheless attributed the seeming security hold of the state by suspected militia men, Boko-Haram and ISWAP to large landmass of Niger state which he said made it prone to peculiar security challenges facing the state.
While insisting that the security challenge was not insurmountable, Martins said, “Of particular attention is the location of Niger state which also makes it very prone to some of the challenges and there are lots of ungoverned areas because of the landmass”.
To check further security threats and encroachments into Nigeria, the Deputy Director said that the DSS has identified the Nigeria Society of Engineers as possible partner in solving the security challenges bedevilling Niger state and the entire country in general.
While urging all three tiers of government to tap into the untapped resources of engineers and other technical experts whose expertise can go a long way in resolving the security issues, Eze believed that ‘technical security can be the answer to the security questions Niger state needed in checking security threats.
“We have identified NSE as possible partners in solving the insecurity challenges. We have realized that security is going digital and technological. You cannot talk about technology without talking about the engineering sector and Engineers.
He argued that security issues should not be left in the hands of government alone said, “We need everybody to be on board. When security is being talked about, people make references to security agencies and vigilantes but some additional stakeholders have not been tapped. This is where engineers and engineering services can come in”.
The outgone Chairman of the NSE, Minna branch, Engineer Elizabeth Eterigho, expressed appreciation to her colleagues for being supportive to her two years in office, adding that the successes couldn’t have been possible without them.
Eterigho said her tenure introduced new programmes while some were rebranded and repackaged,in addition to constant linking of the branch to the outside world in areas of professional development.
