By George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) welcomes the historic passage by the Senate of the Constitution Alteration Bill on State Police and acknowledges it as a major milestone in the nation’s long and difficult search for a more effective security architecture. HURIWA however for the umpteenth time, has proposed that government should allow adult citizens of Nigeria with zero-crime record to bear sophisticated, military grade weapons for self-defence just as it says Liberal gun ownership would effectively curb terrorism. <\/p>\n
For nearly two decades, HURIWA has consistently championed the establishment of state police and the decentralisation of Nigeria’s policing system. Long before it became fashionable for politicians and public office holders to embrace the idea, HURIWA had repeatedly argued that a nation of over 200 million people, with vast geographical territory, complex ethnic configurations, diverse security threats and thousands of communities spread across difficult terrains, cannot effectively be policed from a single command structure headquartered in Abuja.<\/p>\n
For years, HURIWA warned that the over-centralisation of policing would inevitably produce intelligence failures, delayed responses to emergencies, weak community engagement and a dangerous disconnect between security agencies and the populations they are expected to protect. Sadly, events over the years have vindicated these concerns.
\nFrom the Boko Haram insurgency that devastated communities across the North-East, to the scourge of banditry in the North-West, the recurring massacres in farming communities in the North-Central, the epidemic of kidnappings on highways and in homes across the federation, attacks on schools, religious institutions and traditional communities, to violent criminality in urban and rural centres alike, Nigerians have witnessed the painful consequences of a security structure that is overstretched, under-resourced and often disconnected from local realities.<\/p>\n
However, HURIWA wishes to state unequivocally that while state police is necessary, it is not a magic wand. It is not a silver bullet. It is not, by itself, the definitive answer to the grave security emergency confronting Nigeria.
\nThe danger before the nation is that the political class may celebrate the passage of the State Police Bill as though the mere creation of new policing institutions will automatically defeat terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, mass murderers and organised criminal networks. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
\nThe Nigerian security crisis is deeper and more complex than the question of policing structures alone.<\/p>\n
For years, HURIWA has consistently raised alarm over the apparent resilience and sophistication of terrorist and criminal networks operating within Nigeria. The association has repeatedly questioned how violent non-state actors continue to obtain intelligence, evade security operations, acquire weapons, coordinate attacks and sustain their operations despite enormous security expenditures by successive governments.
\nThe time has come for Nigeria to confront uncomfortable truths.
\nNo meaningful security reform can succeed without a determined effort to identify, expose and prosecute collaborators, sponsors, informants and criminal enablers who provide support to terrorists, kidnappers, bandits and other violent groups. Security institutions must undergo continuous internal accountability mechanisms to ensure that criminal infiltration, corruption and compromise do not undermine the nation’s collective security efforts.<\/p>\n
Equally important is the urgent need to modernise intelligence gathering, forensic investigations, surveillance capabilities, border management systems and inter-agency cooperation. In far too many cases, security responses remain reactive rather than preventive. Communities are attacked, citizens are killed, homes are burnt and property is destroyed before security agencies arrive at the scene.
\nThis cycle must end.<\/p>\n
HURIWA also believes that discussions around security must go beyond armed responses. The Federal Government and sub-national governments must address the underlying social and economic conditions that continue to fuel insecurity. Mass youth unemployment, widespread poverty, illiteracy, institutional injustice, rural neglect and governance failures have created fertile conditions for criminal recruitment and social instability.
\nA nation cannot successfully fight insecurity while simultaneously neglecting the welfare and aspirations of millions of young people.
\nThe association further reiterates its longstanding position that the constitutional guarantee of the right to life imposes a sacred obligation on government to provide effective protection for all citizens irrespective of their location, social status, religion or ethnicity.
\nThe painful reality today is that millions of Nigerians living in rural communities remain effectively abandoned. Farmers are unable to cultivate their lands without fear. Villagers sleep with one eye open. Travellers embark on journeys uncertain whether they will arrive alive. Parents send their children to school with anxiety. Communities continue to establish informal self-help arrangements because they lack confidence that help will arrive when danger strikes.
\nThis situation is unacceptable in any democratic society.
\nHURIWA therefore calls for a comprehensive national security reform agenda that must include the effective implementation of state police, strengthened community policing initiatives, enhanced intelligence capabilities, improved welfare and training for security personnel, technological modernisation of law enforcement institutions, stronger border security measures, judicial reforms that guarantee swift prosecution of violent offenders, and the establishment of complementary security mechanisms capable of supporting existing agencies.
\nThe association recalls that over the years it has repeatedly advocated the establishment of a National Guard structure that can provide additional layers of security support during emergencies and periods of heightened threats. Such a mechanism, if properly designed and professionally managed, could strengthen national resilience against terrorism, organised criminality and large-scale security disruptions.
\nHURIWA also urges lawmakers, governors, civil society organisations, traditional rulers, professional associations and security experts to ensure that the emerging state police framework incorporates robust safeguards against abuse. Nigerians must never replace one form of security failure with another.
\nState police must not become instruments of political intimidation, partisan vendetta, ethnic persecution or religious discrimination. Recruitment processes must be transparent. Oversight institutions must be independent. Accountability mechanisms must be strong. Human rights protections must be non-negotiable.
\nThe ultimate objective of any security architecture is not the accumulation of power by government institutions but the protection of human lives and the preservation of human dignity.
\nAs the constitutional amendment process continues through the House of Representatives and the State Houses of Assembly, HURIWA calls on all stakeholders to approach the issue with patriotism, sincerity and an unwavering commitment to the security of the Nigerian people.
\nNigeria stands at a critical crossroads.
\nThe creation of state police offers an opportunity to correct a longstanding structural weakness in our security framework. Yet history will judge this generation of leaders not by the passage of legislation alone but by whether they succeed in making Nigeria safer for ordinary citizens.
\nThe mothers whose children have been abducted, the farmers driven from their lands, the communities destroyed by terrorists, the travellers kidnapped on highways, the worshippers attacked in their places of devotion and the countless victims of violent criminality across Nigeria deserve more than political declarations.
\nThey deserve security.
\nThey deserve justice.
\nThey deserve a country where life is valued and protected.
\nThe passage of the State Police Bill is a significant beginning. The hard work of securing Nigeria has only just begun.
\nSigned<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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