Military Must Close Intelligence Loophole, Says Ex-DSS Director 

A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, says military authorities must close the loophole in intelligence gathering to bolster its terror fight in the North-East geopolitical zone.

Amachree, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics programme on Thursday, said though there were gains in the fight against bandits and terrorists in the North-West and the North-East geopolitical zones respectively, “there is a loophole”.

“Although we are making gains, especially in Borno, the military power and of course, even the security intelligence power is concentrated in Maiduguri,” he said.

According to him, far-flung areas like Damboa, Chibok, and Gwoza, all in Borno State don’t have sufficient military power and so “the terrorists have time to go around”.

An unspecified number of military personnel were missing in a recent ambush by Boko Haram terrorists in Baga, on the fringes of Lake Chad. The soldiers were reportedly ambushed while trying to recover the dead bodies of 40 residents killed by the insurgents when they were ambushed. Several soldiers were also shot dead in the gun battle that ensued.

Also, days ago, terrorists linked to the Islamic State group reportedly killed six soldiers in a raid on a military base in Borno.

Amachree said after the fight, insurgents are “supposed to be driven away and the police are supposed to take over but after the fight, the natives are left alone and when the insurgents return and don’t see any security agent, they strike”.

He expressed disappointment that the military didn’t get the right intelligence to tell them that the blood-thirsty marauders were still around “and going there to pick up dead bodies, I don’t think it was a good idea”.

Amachree also remarked on the need to help the reporting line of all security agencies in the country to coordinate intelligence sharing among sister agencies.

Amachree said, “He (Tinubu) said in his very first speech that he is going to restructure the security architecture and what he has done changing the heads of the agencies, I think it is a very good move.

“Also, equipping them and of course, bringing all of them under the National Security Adviser. That way, the National Security Adviser will play its normal role of a clearing house for intelligence so that people are not talking differently, and they are all putting their eggs in one basket.”

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