Reference to the letter ‘Like Peace Corps, like NATFORCE’, published on page 17, Daily Trust June 11, 2021, the writer stated that the Nigerian Taskforce on the Prohibition of Illegal Importation/Smuggling of Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons and Pipeline Vandalism (NATFORCE) is operating illegally.
However he failed to mention that there is a bill at the National Assembly that has passed 2nd reading at both the House of Representatives and Senate seeking to formally adopt it as a state security agency.
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The sponsors of the bill are the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara (APC, Bauchi) and Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi) at the House of Representatives and the Senate respectively.
But the Office of the National Security Adviser, through its Head, Strategic Communication, ZM Usman, recently in a statement, said the NSA had directed the immediate dismantling of all illegal security outfits and warned against the use of these outfits to extort, harass and intimidate Nigerians.
For the record, NATFORCE is an off-shoot of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) which replaced the defunct Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons and served as the institutional mechanism for policy guidance, research and monitoring of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari in his wisdom allowed NATFORCE to be domiciled in the office of the National Security Adviser, with Maj. Gen. A.M. Dikko (rtd) as its National Coordinator.
I wish to, therefore, call on the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass the bill that will give legal backing to NATFORCE, as an agency to address the rising cases of unemployment among our teeming youths.
Instead of allowing the growing militancy of youths into unprofitable ventures that will create multiple crises across the country, the teeming youths could be deployed to secure our national assets, as well as become gainfully employed.
It is for this reason that the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has identified with NATFORCE, pledging solidarity and all necessary support for the outfit.
We at the Grassroots Mobilizers for President Muhammadu Buhari/Osinbajo are also fighting for Nigerian youths and remain unrelenting in our efforts towards improving the living standard of the masses, more so the wellbeing of the masses has always been one of the top most priorities of the present APC administration.
NATFORCE, therefore, is the most desiring body that could be used to augment the growing security lapses and also to nip in the bud the needless insecurity heralding Nigeria our dear country.
Ambassador (Dr.) Fatima Muhammad Goni, National Chairman Grassroots Mobilizers for PMB/Osinbajo (Maman Talakawa)
