It is not the duty of military to guard civilians – Mutau Muqtar
Executive Director of West Africa Centre on Counter-Extremism, Mr. Mutau Mumuni Muqtar has waded into the issue of the withdrawal of some military officials who were part of the security detail of the current Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin.
This issue has generated a lot of conversation with the Majority and Minority groups in Parliament having a go at each other over the issue. While the Majority is justifying the withdrawal, the Minority on the other hand is having none of that, threatening to blame the government should anything happen to the Speaker.
However, Mr Muqtar has expressed worry about how the Military is deployed in that regard as it undermines their roles.
He stressed the fact that the Military is not built for such roles and they should not be left dabbling in the security of civilians which is the mandate of another agency.
Per how the withdrawal came up according to Mr. Muqtar, was not proper and also the withdrawal letter should not have been made public which has unfortunately given room for especially political speculations and issue of power play due to the trajectory of events.
On the way forward with regards to the Speaker’s security, he indicated that the Speaker’s office needs to provide adequate security, especially by the Police since the military is built for combat operations and not individual security.
He then sent a word of advice to the presidency and all state agencies involved to follow standards when it comes to issues of security.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
