It is reported in Nigeria's newspaper today that Nigeria's top police officer has ordered commanders to offer special protection to newspapers and broadcasters after a suicide bombing and threats against journalists made by a radical Islamist sect.

Do we have enough Police Officers to prevent VIPs, Political Party Officials, etc and now newspaper publishing houses?

I believe there is a smarter way manage the challenges of violent extremism in the country....Establish an office tasked with providing the different identified target sectors with appropriate support and advise on vulnerability and security mapping.

On Thursday 26th April 2012 Thisday Newspapers in Abuja and Kaduna, as well as The Sun and The Moment offices were subjected to terrorist attack. However, I need you to read carefully the account of Mr. Ismail Omipidan and answer the following questions:

1. What is the average Nigeria Police response rate to incident?

2. Does it appear that an average Nigeria Police Officer know what to do when an incident of terrorist attack is reported?

3. Is there any evidence that the Emergency Services and the Police worked together or have a protocol on terrorist incident management in this story?

4. In light of the statement of Mr. Ismail Omipidan about the police handling of the incident, do you agree that there is need to review Nigeria Police Station Incident Management Process?

Mr. Ismail Omipidan, North West Bureau Chief of The Sun told reporters about his experience when he arrived for work yesterday morning:

“I was driving to the office. Normally, I come through Katsina Road Roundabout, through the back, but this very day I just decided that I should park by the road side at the Ahmadu Bello Way because I was heading somewhere. In fact I was actually travelling out of town, so when I came into the office premises, I saw a young man being beaten. And I saw my circulation man beckoning on me. I also saw my landlord. I knew it had something to do with my office. The suspected bomber drove a Honda car into the premises according to the people I asked. The man even came out of the car and was shouting that a bomb will explode any moment, and the people held him and told him to go and remove the bomb. It was at this point I called the Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), DSP Aminu Lawan, and immediately after I called him, I took motorcycle to Magaji Garin police station. I told the police that people are beating a young man close to my office who is suspected to be a bomb carrier, and that they should go there on time so the people should not kill the man. So as I was coming with the police to the scene, the man was forced by the people to remove one of the bombs from the car, and as soon as he removed it, he threw it on the ground and it exploded immediately and three people died on the spot, in that process, the bomber disappeared, the people started looking for him.”

“After sometime, some people went through the back door and they were able to get him, and police came and took him away. When police took him away, some youths started stoning the office. I don’t know what their quarrel was, but I heard one of them saying that we refused to call the police on time. So out of anger, one of them decided to set ablaze the bomber’s vehicle. But before the vehicle was set ablaze we told the police that we are suspecting that there are more bombs in the vehicle, but the police did not go near the vehicle until when that young man went in and set the car ablaze. While the car was burning, we saw two gas cylinders and by the time we moved away from there, one of the cylinders exploded. So it was one of the youths that set the car ablaze.”

It is indeed sad that many were killed today in a bomb blast that rocked a popular drinking spot by an army barracks in Bauchi, northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing a dozen people hours after President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in for his first full term.

The bomb blast is a sad story and again reveals the inability of Nigeria security agencies to tackle the violent extremism in the country and need for a full review of the security infrastructure of the country.

As World leaders at the G8 summit in France issued a joint call for the embattled Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to step down. The real question to be asked is this: Can the Libyan conflict be resolved swiftly with the recent pronouncement?

Though, there is no doubt that the current Libya leader, Col Gaddafi, has lost all legitimacy yet it is clear that the exit strategy is not clear and the eagerness of some western leaders to get Gaddafi before the war crime was one of the reasoning behind the ongoing difficulty in resolving this poliitcal saga. 

The solution to this problem will be the removal of the world crime proposed investigation and allowing Col Gaddafi safe passage out of Libya to ensure that the country does not become another Iraq.