By Araba, Olawale Enifenilanfe:
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International Nigeria (TI Nigeria), under the leadership of Executive Director Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), facilitated a one-day workshop on Defence and Security. This workshop, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, took place on January 15, 2025, at Amber Residence, located at 16 Esugbayi Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria.
The event was attended by state actors, representatives of civil society, and members of the media. After extensive discussions across various thematic sessions, the following observations and recommendations emerged:
1. Collaboration Deficiencies: The delayed establishment of effective working relationships between sub-national civil society organizations and defence and security agencies hinders efforts to enhance transparency, accountability, and information accessibility within the defence and security sector.
2. Technical Limitations: There exists a lack of technical capacity among external oversight institutions, including relevant committees within the National Assembly. In addition, the insufficient financial autonomy of related agencies detracts from civilian oversight capabilities within the defence and security sector.
3. Legal Inconsistencies: Outdated and contradictory legal provisions, alongside poorly implemented foreign legal frameworks, pose significant barriers to effective information disclosure in the defence and security sector.
4. Accountability Shortcomings: Oversight agencies often lack the compelling authority to sanction wrongdoing or to hold the defence and security sector accountable for reported incidents of corruption.
In light of these observations, the workshop participants proposed several strategic recommendations:
– Promoting public awareness regarding the structures and operational mandates of the Nigeria Police Complaints Response Units (NPF-CRU) at all levels to support reform initiatives and enhance public demand for accountability within the police force.
– Strengthening internal accountability mechanisms within the defence sector, such as establishing human rights desks to adequately address and manage human rights issues arising from operational activities.
– Subjecting members of the legislative committees overseeing defence and security, as well as defence contractors, to thorough security scrutiny to mitigate corruption and address conflicts of interest.
– Ensuring adequate access to information and internal data within the defence and security sector to enhance civil societyâs capacity to advocate for transparency and accountability.
– Enhancing external oversight mechanisms of the defence and security sector through public engagement, strategic planning, and improved legal and constitutional frameworks, as well as better financial management systems and human resource protocols.
– Institutionalizing a centralized information portal within the defence and security sector to facilitate easy access to data by external oversight bodies, including civil society organizations and media representatives.
– Implementing immediate amendments to existing legal provisions to clearly delineate classified from non-classified information related to defence and security procurement, financial, and operational activities.
– Strengthening inter-agency collaboration among external oversight bodies to enhance collective efforts in advocating for transparency and accountability within the defence and security sector.
– Reinforcing the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, with particular emphasis on ensuring public accessibility to its annual reports, extending accountability to cover financial and procurement activities within the defence and security sectors, as well as related commercial ventures.
The participants engaged in collaborative brainstorming regarding the challenges identified and provided practical solutions to enhance transparency and accountability for fostering peaceful coexistence within Nigeria.
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