Bukola Afeni
Civil Society Groups are calling for greater transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s Defence and Security sector.
The participants at a two-day capacity building workshop for civil society organizations on increasing access to defence and security financial, procurement, gender, and operational information meeting in Rivers State.
The workshop, organized by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International – Defence and Security Programme, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, brought together civil society groups, defence and security agencies, and media representatives to discuss ways to enhance transparency and accountability in the sector.
According to the communique, participants noted that Nigeria’s defence and security sector is plagued by corruption, excessive secrecy, and lack of transparency.
“This has resulted in poor accountability and mismanagement of resources. The major drivers of corruption in the sector include excessive secrecy in procurement processes and expenditures, shady recruitment and promotion processes, inter-agency rivalry, inflated budget-line items, and phantom contracts.”
To address these challenges, participants recommended enhanced civil society understanding of the extent of information secrecy in the defence and security sector. “We need concerted demand for adequate sanction for erring officers, and immediate amendment and harmonization of contradictory legal provisions to information accessibility.”
The participants also called for strengthened collaboration between civil society and the media.
“We need coalition building among sub-national civil society groups, and relationship building between civil society and defence and security agencies to elicit appropriate information that supports impactful advocacy and public sensitization.”
Other recommendations include institutionalizing whistleblowing mechanisms in the defence sector.
“We need to enhance whistleblowing protection, and active civil society advocacy towards building mutual respect and cooperation between defence and security agencies and oversight institutions.”
The participants also urged the government to prioritize transparency and accountability in the defence and security sector, particularly in procurement and spending, and to ensure that security agencies cooperate with oversight institutions.
