NEF to Tinubu: Declare state of emergency in north to save us

President Bola Tinubu (middle), Soun of Ogbomosoland, His Majesty, Oba Ghandi Oladunni-Olaoye (6th left) and members of his delegation during their visit to the  Presidential Villa in Abuja, recently.

*I’ll create state police — Tinubu *Declaration excites Afenifere, ACF, MBF, others *Nothing has changed in Yelwata since Tinubu’s Benue visit, says Tiv leader *Nations must link security with good governance to check terrorism, says Defence Minister *Wants operationalisation of ECOWAS standby force to be pursued with renewed vigour

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has said the establishment of state police is unavoidable, as part of efforts to strengthen security across the country.

The President’s declaration came as Northern elders yesterday urged him to declare a state of emergency in the North, following  protracted insecurity that has devastated the socio-economic life and development of the region.

It came on a day president of Mzough U Tiv UK (MUTUK), Victor Aleva, also said nothing had changed in Yelewata since President Tinubu visited Benue State, in the wake of the deadly herdsmen’s attack on the community which claimed over 200 lives in June.

This is even as Senator Ali Ndume said Boko Haram terrorists are blind to faith as they target Christians, Muslims as well as those who don’t believe in either of the two. 

The President’s declaration drew the excitement of stakeholders in the polity, especially regional socio-political and cultural groups which have been in the forefront in the call for state police in the country.

They include the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere; its counterpart in the north, the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF; and Middle Belt Forum, MBF.

Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during a courtesy visit by a delegation of prominent Katsina indigenes, led by Governor Dikko Radda, late Tuesday, Tinubu said the Federal Government is committed to confronting insecurity head-on.

The President reiterated the declaration when he met with governors of the North-East yesterday, stressing that there is need to discuss with the National Assembly leadership on the issue. 

He directed security agencies to reassess their operations in Katsina State, which has witnessed a spike in banditry, and disclosed that advanced military equipment and surveillance technology would be deployed. 

While also revealing plans to enhance the capacity of newly-recruited forest guards in the state, Tinubu stressed that while the country faces serious security challenges, they can be resolved with determination and strategy.

He said:  “The security challenges that we are facing are surmountable. Yes, we have porous borders. We inherited weaknesses that could have been addressed earlier. It is a challenge that we must fix, and we are facing it.

“I have directed all the security agencies to energise further and look at the strategies. We have approved additional acquisition of drones.”

The president further instructed that he be given daily updates on security operations in Katsina, saying:

“I am reviewing all the aspects of security; I have to create state police. We are looking at that holistically.

“We will defeat insecurity. We must protect our children, our people, our livelihood, our places of worship, and our recreational spaces. They can’t intimidate us.”

Tinubu reminded the delegation that in February 2024, the Federal Government formed a committee to study the framework for state policing. 

The president also paid tribute to former President Muhammadu Buhari, assuring that his legacy will be preserved. 

“The time we lost our brother, President Buhari, is a loss for all of us. It is the will of God Almighty, but he has left in a good way.

“He didn’t hand over a defeated country, a battered political structure, but a legacy of success, and that is the most important thing,’’ the President said.

In his remarks, leader of the delegation, Governor Radda expressed gratitude to Tinubu for his consistent support.

“Mr President, I would like to thank you very much, and I want to say before our elders that there was never a time I came to the President with a request that he rejected,” Radda said.

Other speakers, including former Governor Aminu Masari and Ibrahim Ida, the Wazirin Katsina, commended Tinubu for honouring Buhari and investing in infrastructure projects in the state.

Ida, however, urged the Federal Government to prioritise the upgrade of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport and intensify security in Southern Katsina.

Recall that following the rising waves of insecurity across the country, a host of stakeholders have been calling for state police.

Last May, in a new consensus, the Northern Governors Forum, NGF, endorsed the creation of state police as a major step to fight insecurity in the country. 

In a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Kaduna, Forum Chairman and governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, noted that the current centralised policing system is grossly incapable of confronting the scale and complexity of local security threats, particularly in the Northern region. 

The Forum then called on the National Assembly “to expedite action on the enactment of the legal framework for its take-off.”

Similar calls have also been made by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, House of Assembly speakers in the 36 states of the federation and other stakeholders. 

State Police overdue—Afenifere

Reacting to the President’s remarks yesterday, the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said the need for state police was long overdue.

Speaking on behalf of Afenifere, the Chairman of its National Executive Committee, NEC, Oba Olu Falae, commended the move, adding that there is need to implement it as soon as possible.

Falae, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who spoke with Vanguard, said: “State Police is something we should have had 50 years ago. Policing is a local matter and, therefore, until you have local policing, we won’t have effective policing in our country.

“In the colonial times, every region and town had its own police force. There were three policing systems in Nigeria.  That we are now returning to state police is welcome and I hope the states will take decisions to recruit people immediately, train and equip them for an effective security mechanism in the states and in the country. It is overdue.”

We’re looking forward to see it work — ACF

On his part, the National Publicity Secretary of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Prof Tukur Baba, said the ACF is looking forward to see  how it would work.

Step in the right direction — MBF 

Also reacting, the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, said President Tinubu’s declaration to create was a step in the right direction. 

National President of MBF, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, in a statement, said the Forum had been leading the advocacy for creation of county or local government police. 

He said: “We have been advocating for state police all along. Our own even goes down to the local government level, that is down to the county level because we said we pretended we are practising true federalism while we are not. 

“In a true federal system, security is structured to cover all strata of our existence. So, we support that as a first step towards addressing the issue, since governors are not in control of the national security architecture, whether it is the police, the military or the paramilitary. 

“So having state police, similar to what we had before the military took over, is best for us in the country.  We used to have the Native Authority Police which we can equate now to the state police and we had the Nigerian police and it worked.

“So it is going to be a step forward in the right direction, especially in areas where our security has been compromised, which is unfortunate anyway.” 

On whether it could be used as tool by governors to oppress perceived political enemies, Dr. Pogu said: “If we look at it that way, we can also say the Federal Government could have been using the federal police or federal security architecture or network to achieve its own objectives. 

‘’So we cannot stop what is beneficial to the well-being and security of our people by considering the behaviour of a few individuals because, yes it is true some governors might exploit that window, but it will not mean that every governor will exploit that window.

‘’The most important thing is let’s secure the lives and property of our people.”

It won’t work in Nigeria, retired general tells Tinubu

But Gen. Ijioma Nwokoro Ijioma, retd, disagreed, saying governors will convert the personnel into thugs to hunt perceived enemies.

He insisted that state police is no solution to the festering insecurity in the country, arguing that nothing was actually wrong with the federal police if the spirit with which it operated in the past was revived.

He said:  “Who is going to be the person that will issue orders to those state police? Is it the governors that you have today?

“I am not in support of state policing. It will not work in Nigeria. That state police will become the thugs for the state governors. Take my word for it.

“Nothing is wrong with the federal police. If the police are constituted and allowed to function the way police have been functioning before, there is nothing absolutely wrong with the police system we have had before.

“When you make the police dysfunctional, then you start looking for state police. And when you now introduce state police, it becomes a frank incest. Then the governors will pocket them and use them to do their own bidding. And we start another thing altogether. Then, we start the cry all over again. I will advise Mr. President not to toe that line.”

Declare state of emergency in North to save us — NEF

Meanwhile, northern elders yesterday urged President Tinubu to declare state of emergency in the north, following the protracted insecurity that has devastated the socio-economic life and development of the region.

Acting under the aegis of Northern Elders Forum, NEF, the northern elders in a communique by their spokesman, Prof Abubakar Jiddere, expressed deep concern over the spate of violent attacks, abductions and killings across the region, asking the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the north.

They warned  that if a state of emergency was not declared, the development might lead to self-help situation and anarchy, which currently threaten Nigeria’s stability and regional peace.

The elders also recalled that on August 19, there was a bloody attack on a mosque in Unguwan Mantau village where armed assailants killed about 27 worshippers and injured many during early morning prayers, while hundreds of people were displaced.

The communique equally alluded to the execution of 38 abductees in Zamfara State, despite ransom payments, as well as two separate attacks in Kaduna State’s Kauru and Kudan Local Government Areas, which killed eight persons and injured eight others.

It read: “Declare a state of emergency in northern Nigeria, acknowledging the extraordinary scale of the crisis; deploy adequately trained armed, and equipped security forces with clear rules of engagement to protect civilian populations and secure international border regions; and provide adequate compensation, rehabilitation, and humanitarian assistance to victims, including displaced persons, in line with international humanitarian standards.’’ 

The communique also called the “strengthening of border control and regional cooperation with neighboring states under ECOWAS and the African Union protocols, to stem cross-border incursions by armed criminal groups.

“Engaging international partners, including the African Union, AU, and United Nations, UN, for technical and humanitarian support.

“The NEF observes with deep regret that the state security architecture remains inadequate, overstretched, and in some cases complicit through inaction and silence, leaving citizens vulnerable and helpless, while eroding public trust in government institutions.’’

Quoting Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ICCPR, which states that the inherent right to life shall be protected by law, and no one shall arbitrarily be deprived of life, the northern elders pledged to continue monitoring developments while engaging stakeholders nationally and internationally to ensure urgent relief for affected northern communities.

Yelewata: Nothing has changed since Tinubu’s Benue visit, says Tiv leader

Also reflecting on the security situation in the north, especially Benue State, the president of Mzough U Tiv UK (MUTUK), Victor Aleva, said no efforts had been made to rebuild the Yelewata community in Benue State, following the deadly herdsmen attack in June.

Recall that President Tinubu had visited Benue, following renewed killings in the state that left scores dead, several injured, and many others displaced in June.

But months after that visit, Aleva insisted that the Yelewata community remains in ruins, despite the President’s visit to the state in response to the incident.

“I was there in Yelewata last week Saturday and I saw things myself and I want to tell you that it is quite unfortunate. It is not about playing to the gallery or just saying things and being political. As I speak, nothing has changed.

“I told you here during my earlier interview that nothing good is going to come out of the President’s visit to Benue State. All those are just political, nothing is happening in Yelewata, I have video evidence, I have interview from the locals, I was there live with my entourage,’’ Aleva said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme yesterday.

During the president’s visit to Yelewata, he ordered that service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) arrest those behind the dastardly attack.

Few days after Tinubu’s arrest order, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, announced the arrest of 26 persons suspected to be masterminds of the killings in Yelewata.

However, Aleva dismissed the reported arrest of the attack masterminds by the police, describing it as “a lie”.

He said:  “You know that is a lie. Because the president went there and scolded the Inspector-General of Police and just less than 48 hours or thereabouts, they paraded some people.

“Where are the people? That incident actually happened I think on the 13th and 14th of June, this is more than two months, where are the people?” 

Aleva maintained that the attack in Yelewata had nothing to do with herders-farmers clash, but a calculated attempt to exterminate the people living in the village. 

He said the people of the state expected the president to order the rebuilding of the community and not ‘playing to the gallery’. 

Boko Haram  blind to faith, targets Muslims, Christians — Ndume

in a similar development, Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), said yesterday Boko Haram terrorists were blind to faith as they target Christians, Muslims as well as those who don’t believe in either of the two. 

He appealed to Nigerians, especially the media, to resist the temptation of profiling victims of the terror gang’s atrocities and unite to defeat the insurgents. 

The federal lawmaker, who made the appeal in a statement he issued in Abuja yesterday, was reacting to reports of weekend attacks at Ngoshe village in Gwoza Local Government Area and Mussa community in Askira-Uba Local Government areas of Borno State. 

In the two separate incidents, the insurgents killed five farmers in the two villages.

Of those killed, two Muslims were killed in Ngoshe while the three killed in Mussa were Christians who were murdered by the terror gang the following day.  Both communities are located in Askira-Uba Local Government area of Borno State. 

Media reports indicate that the terrorists also razed dozens of houses in the two attacks.

Ndume, who was former chairman, Senate Committee on Army, said:  “It is unethical and unconscionable for any media outlet to drive the narrative that Christians are the targets  of these attacks by the terror group in Borno, or anywhere in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria.

“The forces behind these mindless killings are blind to faith and tribe. We should avoid this dangerous profiling which can distract us. It has the tendency of doing us more harm. 

“It  can even inflame negative passion in our soldiers,  dampen the morale of  men who toil day and night,  determined to ensure that they wipe out this dangerous sect.

“Our people, whose only pursuit is peace and livelihood, continue to fall victim to the cruelty of insurgents. These men and women deserve to live, to farm and to dream, but their lives are  being  cut short by those who thrive on violence and destruction.”

Ndume commended the military for sustaining the battle against the terrorists, restating his  appeal to the federal government to increase funding and level of support for the men and women in uniform to boost their morale to do more.

Nations must link security with good governance to defeat terrorism — Defence Minister

Similarly, the Defence Minister, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, said yesterday that nations of the West African sub-region and the Sahel must link security with governance, and utilise timely intelligence to confront transnational terrorism plaguing the sub-region

He also said  operationalisation of the ECOWAS Standby Force must be pursued with renewed vigour, while harmonisation of legal frameworks across member states would ensure terrorists and their support networks found no safe haven.

Badaru, who stated this at the regional conference on combating emerging terrorist groups and strengthening sustainable security in ECOWAS/Sahel region in Abuja, said:  “Capacity building is essential. Our forces require not only modern equipment but also advanced training to meet the evolving challenges of counter-terrorism. 

“The creation of a regional counter-terrorism task force, fully trained and equipped for rapid deployment, is an initiative we must embrace.

“Terrorism has become one of the greatest threats to peace and stability in West Africa and the Sahel. It exploits porous borders, weak governance and deep socio-economic disparities. It takes root in communities where grievances are left unaddressed, and it spreads through ungoverned spaces where institutions are absent.

“These realities are stark, but they do not define our destiny. They are challenges we must confront collectively with determination, innovation and solidarity.

“Terrorism in our time has assumed a more complex and dangerous character. We are dealing with adversaries who are adaptive, highly networked and increasingly sophisticated in their methods.

“Their collaboration with international terrorist organizations has created a web of instability that stretches across borders. They exploit encrypted communication platforms, deploy unmanned aerial systems and radicalize vulnerable youth online.

“This evolution underscores the urgency of our meeting today. Terrorism, insurgency and insecurity are not abstract threats. They are existential challenges that endanger our people, our economies, and our shared future.’’

Speaking further, the minister said:  “The operationalisation of the ECOWAS standby force must be pursued with renewed vigour. Harmonisation of legal frameworks across member states will ensure terrorists and their support networks find no safe haven.

“Thirdly, we must address the root causes of radicalisation. Military force is necessary but not sufficient. Poverty, unemployment, exclusion and poor governance provide fertile ground for extremist ideologies, Investing in education, strengthening community resilience and ensuring good governance are equally critical to our long-term security.

“Winning the hearts and minds of our populations will deny extremist groups the local support they seek to exploit.

“The task before us is clear. We must combine military strength with governance reforms and socio-economic development. This comprehensive approach is the only way to deliver sustainable peace.’’

Culled from Vanguard