The Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle, has emphasised that only the Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force, while on joint operations with the military, are allowed by law to use military camouflage.
Matawalle made the call while reaffirming the ban on the unauthorised use of military camouflage to avoid escalating the security situation in the country.
He noted that the Nigerian Armed Forces and the Nigerian Police are ready to enforce the directive given by the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, regarding the ban on the use of camouflage uniforms by paramilitary agencies.
A statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Ministry of Defence, Henshaw Ogubike, said this is coming at a time when criminals disguise themselves as military and paramilitary personnel to cause havoc in society.
“The present situation does not support the use of military camouflage by people who are not authorised or not personnel of DHQ. The criminals among us have had to take advantage of the military, police, and other security agencies’ gear to perpetrate crimes.“
The Minister emphasised that there was a need to streamline the personnel that are authorised to use military camouflage, as the government places a ban on other paramilitary agencies from using military camouflage to bring sanity to the system and also as a way of checking criminal activities.
The circular titled Observation on Proliferation in the Use of Camouflage Uniforms by Other Security Agencies in Nigeria,” personally signed by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, mandated personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and the Federal Fire Service, among others, to discontinue the use of camouflage uniforms henceforth, following the directive issued by ONSA.
Accordingly, the use of camouflage uniforms by various security agencies other than the Armed Forces, namely, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, remains banned. He, however, gave an exception to its use by the Nigerian Police Force, which he said can only be used in joint operations with the military.
He said the enforcement of the ban becomes imperative given the security implications and concerns raised by the clamour of duplicity and proliferation in the country.
The measure is aimed at reducing the crime rate in Nigeria, adding that if we identify those who are authorised to use the camouflage, we can quickly differentiate them from criminals who intend to confuse us.
Dr. Matawalle therefore stressed that, henceforth, existing laws guiding the use of camouflage uniforms in Nigeria would strictly be enforced.
