6th Key Element of The 7 Point Agenda - National Security and Intelligence

6. National Security and intelligence

There can be no meaningful development in an atmosphere of rancor and insecurity. As a result, this government will place high priority to security of life and property. It is committed to creating a central Directorate of Intelligence and encouraging higher levels of neighborhood policing – to curb crime rate-. Police stations will now be equipped with networked computers and a central computerized fingerprinting records system put in place. The general welfare and conditions of service of the men and officers’ of the force will be improved so as to boost morale, engender commitment and discourage corruption within the force. Security of life and property represents one of the most important constitutional duties of any Government. Security, law and order are the foundation on which the successes of all government initiatives towards good governance are anchored. The authority of government over the people can be legitimized and sustained only to the extent that it guarantees the security of their lives and properties.


The primary challenges of national security revolve around the general economic down-turn. The challenges of national security are daunting and potentially threaten the stability of the polity and the safety of the economic and social sectors of society. The lack of adequate security discourages foreign direct investment as such undermining economic growth.

Collaboration of all security organizations in the country is a major step to combating crime. The Military Intelligence Directorate, the state security service, the criminal/state intelligence bureau of the police and the intelligence units of all other agencies must pool resources and create a central crime intelligence directorate (CID). This will also help stem the growing tide of rivalry between the various agencies. The ability to communicate effectively within and between the services will also be enhanced.

The government will review the National Youth Service Corporation (NYSC) Act in order to provide legal cover for Youth Corpers to be deployed in crime prevention and community policing. This will be achieved as Nigeria invests heavily in security, and also, properly rewards those who put their lives (in the line of fire) to ensure the safety of lives and properties.

Sustained public education campaigns will be used to alert people on the consequences of deviant activities. The community must be directly involved in designing and claiming ownership of programs aimed at reducing crimes. To complement this, government will seriously explore avenues of cooperation with established law enforcement agencies across the world to provide assistance for our law enforcement agencies.