CISL AC, TI- DSP harp on accountability in security sector

CIVIL Society Legislative Advocacy Centre ( CISLAC) and T ransparency International Defence and Security Project ( TI- DSP) ha ve emphasised the need for scrutiny and reforms to address transparency and accountability gaps within the country’s defence/ security sector.

They made the call at the twoday Defence and Security Sector Anti- Corruption Training, organised by CISLAC, yesterday, in Lagos. Highlighting the urgency , the Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa ( Rafsanjani) emphasised the need for ongoing reform initiatives amid evolving security threats.

He added that despite recent reforms, the sector faces challenges rooted in a histor y of military rule and exceptionalism, contributing to corruption drivers like opaque procurement processes, interagency rivalry and inflated contracts.

"More importantly, a recent analysis indicated that over 80 per cent of military personnel have been deployed in internal security across the 36 states of the federation with whopping sums budgeted for insecurity. This goes to show that the prolonged fight against insecurity, though very expensive, is yet to record the desired impact or effectiveness," he said.

Rafsanjani stressed that corruption within the sector has far- reaching consequences, hindering counter- terrorism operations, empowering insurgency and jeopardising democratic governance mechanisms, noting that recent high- profile corruption cases, often vanishing from public discourse, raise concerns about accountability and the influence of political interests.