How Nigeria Government Can Tackle Plateau’s Insecurity – Ex DSS Director

Former Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mike Ejiofor, has offered a critical perspective on the ongoing security challenges in Plateau State, urging the Nigerian government to shift its approach.

According to Ejiofor, the persistence of violence in the region is not due to a lack of intelligence but because the true causes of the crisis remain unidentified.

Ejiofor believes that addressing the issue requires a shift towards intelligence-backed, community-led solutions that involve local leaders, retired security personnel, and a robust first line of defence.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Ejiofor expressed deep concern over the situation, describing it as a complex security challenge made worse by mixed narratives and inadequate action from relevant authorities.

Ejiofor highlighted the complexity of the situation, stressing that resolving the issue requires a deeper understanding of the perpetrators’ motivations, as well as stronger community involvement and a more coordinated security response.

According to the former DSS Director, the shadowy nature of the perpetrators, coupled with uncertainty around their motives and leadership, makes it nearly impossible to deliver meaningful solutions.

“Intelligence plays a major role in this fight against insurgency. And you know that the state security service itself has been charged with provision of intelligence to other security agencies. Now, I’ve said this many times without number that we’re not lacking intelligence in terms of supplying to the operations, but I think in the case of Plateau State, for instance, I think it has become a major problem to everybody. Because before you solve a problem, get a solution to the problem, you should be able to identify the causes of that problem,” he said.

He went on to criticise the lack of clarity surrounding the crisis, noting that speculation, political rhetoric, and conflicting interpretations have taken the place of concrete facts.

“What is happening in Plateau State seems to have overwhelmed everybody. Because, one, who are the leaders? They are not known. What are their aims and objectives? Nobody seems to know. We’re all speculating. Everybody hazards a guess. The governor will come, it’s ethnic cleansing. Others will come, it is an issue of land, and all these things.

“But I believe, too, that the state security service has a profile on some of these people, which should be shared. Commissions of inquiry have been set up. What has happened to those commissions of inquiries? What is the outcome of those inquiries? So these are major problems. We should be able to identify what the problem is before we start looking for solutions,” Ejiofor stated.

To strengthen grassroots defence mechanisms, Ejiofor recommended forming a “first line of defence” comprised of retired officers, respected community figures, and town union leaders—trained and armed under police oversight—to bolster national security efforts in high-risk areas.

“Now, if you look at the intelligence gathering, people make up the community, provides the intelligence. And if these people, the terrorists or jihadists, as the governor has classified them, come at night to kill innocent people, it becomes a problem. I have not been to this particular area, but I understand it is a mountainous area where these terrorists occupy, and come out from that place.

“Don’t also forget that they cannot operate in isolation of some of the unpatriotic indigenes of that area. So it’s a major problem that the government has to address. And I think one of the solutions I think we should look at is the issue of first line of defence… that’s getting the communities involved,” he said.

Ejiofor believes that community members will have a stronger commitment to protecting their land, especially in states like Plateau and Benue where there’s a rich reserve of retired yet capable security personnel.

“I can tell you that if we get the communities involved, they will be more committed. A place like Plateau and Benue State, for instance, where we have a reserve of retired officers, you get them together, form a group at the local government level, at the state level, harness all of them, bring them together. They will be able to provide the intelligence in conjunction with the state security staff to fight this.”

“This group of people should be out. Because if you gather them without the necessary arms, they cannot do anything. They should be armed and regulated by the police. Like I said, the professionals who are retired and still active should form the bulk of this group of first line of defence. Because if you say they should just go to the police, and these people running riot come in with sophisticated weapons, it becomes a problem,” he added.

Ejiofor also raised alarm about the rising cases of kidnapping and terrorism nationwide, which he described as criminal ventures backed by invisible sponsors operating behind the scenes.

“There are still local funders of these groups. If you take the case of kidnapping for instance, people collecting hundreds of millions, 50 million, 30 million, and you see that they are looking haggard, they are looking unkempt. So that means there are people behind them that they are giving this money. So it has become a franchise. It’s a major problem.

“And I think the government has to take these issues of insecurity, And it’s not only peculiar to Benue and Plateau. You have cases of kidnapping in the Northwest. The issue of IPOB in the Southeast, The festering cases of Boko Haram in the Northeast, especially Borno that is upcoming again, there is upsurge of these incidents. So we need to identify the funders, people behind all this.”

He concluded with a strong call for a shift in strategy, urging the Nigerian government to abandon ineffective methods and start deploying intelligence-led, community-supported policies.

“We cannot continue to do the same thing in the same way and expect a different result,” he warned.