The Dan Amanan of Fune Emirate, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Ajia, has said the time has come for the federal government to urgently embrace a properly structured community policing, declaring that it is no longer an option but a national emergency.
Dr Ajia made the call in the wake of the recent banditry attack on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Eruku in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State where three people reportedly died.
He explained that the community policing must be backed by clear policy initiatives, adequate infrastructure, and effective collaboration amongst traditional institutions, local vigilante groups, and security agencies to ensure effective grassroots intelligence and prompt response to threats.
Dr. Ajia, in a statement issued in Abuja through his Director of Communications, Mallam Abdulrahman Aliagan, described the incessant security breaches in Kwara and other parts of the country as ugly, shameful, and a direct assault on the collective peace and dignity of the Nigerian people.
He noted that Nigeria must invest heavily in modern surveillance systems, rapid-response technology, and improved inter-agency coordination.
Dr Ajia added that decentralizing certain aspects of policing would make the security apparatus more responsive to local realities, ensuring that state and community-level challenges receive timely attention.
Only through such structured and sustainable measures, the security expert said, can the country reverse the present dangerous security trajectory.
He strongly condemned the worsening security situation in Kwara and across Nigeria.
According to him, it is unacceptable that innocent citizens continue to fall victim to kidnappers, bandits, and sundry criminal gangs who operate freely across the country.
Dr Ajia called on political actors in Nigeria to immediately suspend their 2027 political aspirations and power tussles and come together to secure our country and save the lives of our citizens.
He warned that Nigeria is being consumed by insecurity and that leaders must set aside personal ambitions, unite, and face the crisis head-on.
The Ilorin-born security expert sympathized with the families of the victims of Eruku attack and other recent tragedies across Nigeria including the kidnapped Kebbi schoolgirls.
He prayed that God grants the family of the deceased fortitude to bear the irreparable loss and safe return of the kidnapped victims.
Dr. Ajia also demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the attackers, insisting that criminals who shed innocent blood must not be allowed to get away with such heinous crimes while urging coordinated rescue operations for save returns of the victims.
Dr Ajia reiterated that security is a collective responsibility and urged Nigerians to remain vigilant while calling on the government to rise to its constitutional duty of protecting the lives and property of citizens.
