Alleged coup plot: Let the response be adequate and decisive, by Shehu Bashir

In security breach, there is no accident of occurrence, not even the slightest mention of it should be ignored as an incident of chance.

It does not matter and it will not matter if the plot was uncovered ahead of the execution, or if it was successful, the investigation should go far and deeper to uncover any more details—the complicit people and their networks for possible punishment.

And it will even be immaterial whether the news of the coup is true or not. There is always a prelude to an actual action — law breakers often like to test the force of the law and the readiness of the law enforcement structure through the minutest action or rumour.

Therefore, while we are all trying to verify the veracity of this news, there is need for further investigation to be carried out to understand if there were foreign hands in this.

If there was a coup attempt, whichever state was it, planning or actualization stage. We also want to know the financiers, the mobilizers, the logistics suppliers, the communications that happened between who and who, and all the money involved in the failed operation.

No name of anyone who is involved should be spared. The name of everybody involved should be made public at the appropriate time once investigation is concluded.

Concealment should be seen and taken as complicit. Obstruction of justice by anyone should be met with decision action.

Anyone at all, who got the wind of this and kept quiet should be brought to book. The fact that this was done in the first place, indicates that another attempt may be made. The more reason a decisive action should be taken in response to this alleged attempt.

In that regard, the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu should immediately rejig the security architecture — from the ONSA down to NSCDC.

There is need for immediate reshufflement and redeployment of Armed Forces personnel across formations. Even the military and paramilitary forces should be given a touch of change.

In sequence to that, there should be mass reposting and mass retirement of any officers directly or indirectly involved or even sympathetic to the act, from top to bottom.

Furthermore, Mr. President should now order immediate reconnaissance —every communication network should be monitored henceforth — there should be wide range of intelligence gathering from all communications from across all networks and platforms — the conventional GSM calls, satellite communications, text messages, the social media platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram and all internet calls.

NCC should go beyond regulatory oversight, it should step up its intelligence surveillance (of all communications) to help in the fight against insecurity.

This will also include the scrutinization of all social media accounts for Open Source Intelligence, OSINT. Every Facebook, instagram, twitter, etc account should be scrutinized. There is need to upgrade the algorithm to detect and determine such breach.

No joke of any kind, advocating for coup should be considered a joke. No content with subtle advocacy for revolution should be ignored anymore. Social content should not create social turbulence.

I know the capacity of the DSS when it comes to handling communication intelligence, very efficient. I know the DIA is not limited in terms of its covert operations when it comes to defence intelligence. The NIA may not be as advanced as the CIA, but I know the agency has recorded remarkable intelligence operations that stopped several betrayals.

There is no doubt that the EFCC is well equipped in human and material resources, with the capacity to trace all terrorist financing, it gotten a lot to do here. The administration of NFIU should be updated, upgraded and given bigger operational assignment to follow, in real time, all financial transactions.

The CBN should now have a real time, indelible access to all transactions that take place in commercial banks, including the other FinTech companies.

The feedback for suspicious financial transactions should be at Artificial Intelligence, AI, level, to auto report any such illegal transactions.

All these agencies when tasked to work in collaboration with one another will uncover the plots and preempt the future likely illegal activities.

Anyone campaigning for or expressing desire for revolution, now or later, should be treated with proportional force as a traitor.

I have always argued that we can be lenient on anything else — political inclusion of opposition, appointing an adversary, awarding contract to whoever, etc, but not national security breach.

It is dangerous to deny the obvious, look away or shy away from enforcing the law with brutal response when a coup is plotted or allegedly imminent. It is a risk against the democratic occupants of the offices as it is to the Nigeria democratic state.

And when it comes to the suspicion of plotting a coup, no one should be trusted on the altar of being “a friend”. Everybody is a potential suspect.

Most times, most successful coups are executed by those who understand the “in and out” of the security apparatus and know the principal too well. Nothing should be taken for granted.

Anyone who is planning an insurrection under the pretense of “protest” should also be measured up and rounded up for judicial action. There is no where in the rules of democratic governance where promotion of insurrection and campaign for coup d’etat is considered “freedom of speech”.

Therefore, addressing the breach with adequate response cannot negate or be seen to negate the principle of rule of law. Let the right response be given to the wrong actions.

I urge anyone who is in a hurry to see a “change” of government to be careful not to incite a crisis that may alter the balance of Nigeria’s cohesion. Nigeria is neither a Niger Republic nor a Burkina Faso.

The peculiarity of our diversity and the importance of national political leadership rotation will make it a subject of debate if not chaos for anyone who may try to upset the system as we have it now.

We have thrived for over twenty six years since the beginning of this republic. We have been led by people from North and South at different times and the clock is still rotating. Therefore, the balance of that rotational power cannot be altered unlawfully and prematurely for whatever reason.

Our national security is our natural existence. Anything that happens to our national security will tamper with our lives, peace and stability. We have established a stable democracy, we cannot allow any renegades to truncate it.