INSECURITY: DIA TO REVIEW INTELLIGENCE MECHANISM FOR ARMED FORCES – Gen. Davies. *Says BHT started 15 yrs ago, should have been predicted as emerging threat.

INSECURITY: DIA TO REVIEW INTELLIGENCE MECHANISM FOR ARMED FORCES – Gen. Davies.

*Says BHT started 15 yrs ago, should have been predicted as emerging threat.

Following the perceived failure of intelligence in the outbreak and spread of the Boko Haram terrorism and the massive destructive impact the menace have had on the nation, the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) is set to review intelligence gathering and operational templates for the country’s armed forces.

Making the disclosure at the Deputy Defence Advisers/Attaché’s and Librarians Training Conference in Abuja on Monday, Acting Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Saduana James Davies noted that DIA is presently designing a new template on which intelligence reporting would be based.

“It would be proactive intelligence and not intelligence based on incident report and state news which is ineffective. In fact, we have concluded plans to extend same to the Defence missions.  In this regard, we are reviewing the type of briefs we give to our attaches. There will be a formal briefing format for members of the family of Defence sections and also for officers proceeding for courses abroad”, he said.

Disclosing that the contemporary security challenges of Boko Haram terrorism that we have in our hands today, started about 15 years ago in the Middle East and should have been predicted then as an emerging threat by our intelligence apparatus, the CDI regretted this was not the case.

“As such, we could not take appropriate preventive measures to nip it in the bud before it constituted a major security challenge to the nation” Gen. Davies said.   

Emphasizing that the myriad of security challenges clogs in the development of the nation, the Acting CDI said, “The challenges presently facing the nation include Boko Haram terrorism, cyber warfare/crimes, sovereign state agitators such as Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), deadly diseases such as Zika and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)”.

“Others challenges include quest by terrorists to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMD), re-emergence of militancy in the Niger Delta, destruction of critical infrastructure, low pricing/demand of oil and re-emergence of cold war amongst others”.

Continuing Gen. Davies said, “You need not be told how this has impacted negatively on the national economy resulting in massive unemployment, with attendant quest by youths to engage in crimes for survival. Some of these crimes like armed robbery and kidnapping have been with us but new tactics by perpetrators are emerging through social media and the internet”.

“It is the current government’s resolve to tackle some of these hydra-headed security challenges that led to increased involvement of the Nigerian armed forces in national security operations. Hence the sophistication of our society coupled with increasing violence and attendant losses of lives and property, require a continuous reappraisal of our operational tactics” Davies noted.

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