Transnational Terrorist and Criminal Networks Now Put Nigerian National Security at Risk

BY OKEY NDIRIBE & CHRIS OCHAYI
ABUJA—Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Abdulrahman Dambazzau, has identified transnational criminals and global terrorist networks, which have infiltrated West African, as a serious threat to the nation’s security.

Delivering the keynote address at the National Stakeholders Summit on Security and Public Awareness, Dambazzau said the region had become a major reference point for global criminal activities, describing Nigeria as a major transit for drugs and arms trafficking.

Dambazzau said trafficking in small arms and light weapons was the major cause of global proliferation of arms, adding that when the arms found their way into the country, they were used for various acts of violence, such as armed robbery and ethno-religious conflicts.

He added: “In addition to the possibility of importation of terrorism through known global terror networks, transnational organised crimes, involving arms, drugs, human trafficking, money laundering, cyber-crimes , advance fee fraud and illegal bunkering are, indeed, posing serious security threats to Nigeria.”

He further stated that corruption had become a major threat to the nation’s security and stability.
Said he: “Much relevant to our gathering here, is the fact that corruption endangers the stability and security of our society when it undermines the institutions and values of democracy.

“Overall, corruption is both a cause and consequence of poverty and under-development and it increases the likelihood of other crimes.”

Declaring the summit open, President Goodluck Jonathan noted that the nation had been confronted with some major security challenges in recent times.

Enumerating such challenges as intra and inter party conflicts, socio-economic agitations, ethno-religious crisis, civil and organised rebellion, and outright criminality, the President reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to secure the life and property of the citizenry.

He said: “Let me reiterate that this administration remains irrevocably committed to its constitutional role of securing the lives and property of all Nigerians.

“Government is ready to do whatever needs to be done, within the scope of the rule of law, to bring about lasting peace, while also laying more emphasis on an intelligence based approach to meeting our national security challenges.

“Similarly, this administration is committed to the fulfilment of its promises of growing the economy through job creation for our teeming youths, so that they can be meaningfully engaged.”

President Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, reminded Nigerians that “security is a shared responsibility which underscores the importance of identifying and reporting suspicious activities.”

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to be vigilant and report suspicious characters to security agencies, adding that “to facilitate this, the office of the National Security Adviser is working with the Ministry of Communication to make telephone service operators provide toll free emergency lines that are going to be very easy to remember by the public.”

The President challenged participants to come up with simple and effective strategies for raising public awareness on indicators of security threats and to emphasise the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

In his own remarks, the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad II, said the presence of high ranking traditional rulers from across the country indicated the concern and commitment of traditional institutions to the peace and security of Nigeria.

He thanked the Federal Government for setting up the committee.

The Sultan expressed concern over the fate of report that would emanate from the summit and said, “I pray that at the end of this summit, the recommendations that would be put forward and sent to the government will not be thrown into the dust bin as so many others before this kind of summit.”

In his goodwill message, the Asagba of Asaba, Professor Chike Edozie observed that most nations in the world have gone through conflicts and wars.

“ People leave their nationalities and religion to come together on their own and wish to be together and remain as a country. We need to have done more to bring the people together so that we all merge our various traditional cultures and religions into becoming one nation” he said.

He continued: “We are happy that this has now has been recognised and we are here today to begin that journey that will lead to Nigeria becoming one nation, one people out of this diversity.”

Most speakers at the occasion condemned the activities of Boko Haram and other armed groups that have unleashed mayhem on different parts of the country.

• Others speakers at the summit who included,
• Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar Ibn Umar;
• Tor-Tiv, Chief Alfred Torkula;

• Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe;
• the representative of Oni of Ife, Oba Aderemi Adeniyi-Adedapo, Minister of Defence, Mohammed Haliru Bello and Minister of Information Labaran Maku.
• They all acknowledged that this is trying period for the nation due to its challenging security situation.

Other dignitaries who graced the occasion were the President of Nigerian Guild of Editors and General Manager/Editor-in-Chief of Vanguard Newspaper, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye; spokesperson of the State Security Services, SSS, Marilyn Ogar;

Alhaji Idi Farouk,

former Commissioner of Police, FCT, Command, Mr. Lawrence Alobi; Deputy Governor of Kogi State,

The Rest @ Vanguard

Mexican Drug Cartels indited in the US

THe US Attoreny GEneral anounced Indictments against 43 International Drug Cartel memebers, including

• Joaquin Guzman-Loera - also known as "Chapo";
• Ismael Zambada-Garcia - also known as "el Mayo";
• Arturo Beltran-Leyva.
  

Attormey General Eric Holder held a press conference, flanked by

• U.S. Attorney Pat Fitzgerald from the Northern District of Illinois,
• U.S. Attorney Ben Campbell from the Eastern District of New York,
• Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration Michele Leonhart,
• Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement John Morton.
  

"Today, we are announcing, in a coordinated action, major drug-trafficking charges against 43 individuals, including cartel leaders, members and associates in two federal districts."

"Specifically, we allege that these defendants shipped multi-ton quantities of narcotics into the United States through various established smuggling corridors, and then, through a network of affiliated distributors, dispersed these drugs into cities and neighborhoods across the country.


The indictments unsealed today outline nearly two decades of criminal activity by these cartels and their leaders here in the United States, as well as in Mexico and other countries.

These cartels are not abstract organizations operating in far-off places. They are multi-billion dollar networks funneling drugs onto our streets. What invariably follows these drugs is more crime and more violence in our communities. The audacity of the cartels' operations is matched only by their sophistication and their reach.

But today, because of the dedicated work of our DEA and ICE agents, the diligence of our prosecutors in Chicago and Brooklyn, and the support of our courageous law enforcement partners in Mexico, we are able to charge leaders and members of these insidious cartels for their heinous crimes here in the United States.

Our friends and partners in Mexico are waging an historic and heroic battle with the cartels as we speak. This is not a fight that we in the United States can afford to watch from the sidelines.

The stakes are too high and the consequences too real for us. We will continue to investigate, charge, and arrest the cartel leaders and their subordinates, and we will continue systematically to dismantle and disrupt their far-reaching and dangerous operations.

I will let the two U.S. Attorneys with us today describe the charges in more detail, but suffice it to say that the criminal conduct alleged in these indictments did not take place solely in Mexico.

Rather, it played out right here in our own backyards.

For example, in Chicago we have arrested and charged individuals who allegedly worked directly with Mexican cartels to receive thousand kilo shipments of drugs, and then dispersed those drugs into the Chicago community and throughout the country.

We have learned from previous successful experiences in fighting organized crime that we must not only go after the leaders of these cartels, but also seize the money that funds their operations.

That is why in these indictments, we are seeking forfeiture of more than $5.8 billion in illegal drug proceeds.

If we can suffocate their funding sources, we can cripple their operations.
Breaking up the Mexican drug cartels and stemming the flow of drugs and illegal firearms across the Southwest border is a top priority for this Justice Department. And we have made important strides in this fight:

Earlier this year, an extensive investigation of the Sinaloa Cartel known as Project Xcellerator led to the arrest of more than 750 people in the United States and Mexico and the seizure of more than $59 million in illegal drug proceeds.

We have rolled out the President's National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy to stem the flow of illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the border.

We have directed much-needed resources to break up the cartels and to support border-related initiatives. Just last month, for example, I announced $8.7 million in Recovery Act funds for California communities to use in fighting crime and drug trafficking as part of our Southwest Border Strategy.

• We have formed an arms trafficking working group, led by the Criminal Division, to tackle the critically important problem of weapons flowing across the border into Mexico.
  

We have formalized agreements with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security and with the government of Mexico to increase cooperation as we carry out our fight on several fronts.

And we have brought charges against high-level Mexican leaders of the Gulf Cartel, now known as the "Company," and 15 of their top lieutenants for drug trafficking-related crimes.

All of these efforts have been in addition to the numerous investigations, prosecutions, arrests, and interdictions that our prosecutors and agents carry out across the country every day.

Today's charges demonstrate that we will not stop until these violent criminal enterprises have been eliminated. And we will continue to stand with our partners in Mexico as we carry on this vital fight.

On that note, I would like to acknowledge President Calderon and his administration for all that they continue to do in leading Mexico's fight against violent narco-traffickers.

The Rest @ PRN News Wire