Show No Mercy To Killers Of Security Personnel – Former Niger Gov Aliyu

• Canvasses death penalty as deterrent
• Tasks FG on controversial tax bills

BY EDMOND ODOK – Former Governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has prescribed death sentence for those found culpable of killing security personnel to serve as a deterrent for other criminal elements in Nigeria.

He said such extreme penalty would not only send a strong message to perpetrators of the dastardly acts but also curb the alarming rate of attacks on military and paramilitary officers across the country.

Speaking against the backdrop of reports that no fewer than 229 police officers were killed in the past 22 months by criminals, including terrorists, bandits, and gunmen, Aliyu maintained that the country cannot continue to pamper those who are clearly evil and do not have regards for the sanctity of human lives.

Aliyu, who served as governor between 2007 and 2015, made the submission at the graduation ceremony of the Executive Intelligence Management (EIM) Course 17 at the National Institute of Security Studies (NISS) in Abuja.

Also criticizing governors for heavily relying on the Federal Government to tackle insecurity in their respective States, he said they must take responsibility by utilizing the appropriated security votes to adequately fund security agencies and related activities.

Aliyu further stressed the importance of patriotism, adding that mutual trust between citizens and the government remains a key factor in fostering loyalty and ultimately peace and progress in the country.

While also addressing issues around the now contentious tax reform bills, the man who prided himself as “Chief Servant” during his eight years sojourn as governor, criticized the Federal Government for failing to effectively communicate their content to Nigerians ahead of time.

According to him, many Nigerians opposing the bills have not studied them and the government would gain more by improving its communication strategy to ensure public understanding of the issues involved.

The three bills—the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024, and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024—have sparked widespread debate with
the Northern governors leading the charge for their rejection, especially in relations to the new derivation-based VAT distribution model outlined in the bills.

Aliyu, who chaired the EIMC 17 graduation ceremony, said, “I was speaking to the NSA when we were in the common room, and I said to him, look, many of the people debating the tax bill have not read it. But again, there is the problem of communications; the government should speak more.

“When the majority of the people are not literate, you should be the first to speak on any major policy, particularly a policy that will bring changes, so that the people can understand.

“I have not seen any country where about 38 soldiers would be killed and there will be deafening silence afterwards. I want to recommend that anybody that kills a uniformed person must die!

“When people talk of patriotism, patriotism is not taken in one eye. Patriotism comes as the result of a symbiotic relationship between the government and the governed. If I realize that the government protects me, why would I not love my government?

“No doubt about it, the State governors should stop blaming the federal government for insecurity in their States. Huge sums of security votes are there for them to use to take care of the challenges.

“Any competent governor should not cry to the center every time there is a security issue in his State. They should take charge and fund the security agencies serving them adequately.”

A senior civil servant, who ventured into politics, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, was first elected governor of Niger State in April 2007 and got re-elected on 26 April 2011 for his second tenure.

Dignitaries at the NISS graduation, which had 91 participants from Nigeria and five foreign countries of Chad, The Gambia, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Rwanda, included President Bola Tinubu, represented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; and Vice President Kashim Shettima, represented by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

Others are Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa; DSS Director-General, Adéọlá Oluwatosin Ajàyí, several Cabinet Ministers and top government officials.