Decentralised security architecture, only panacea to nation’s growing insecurity — Gani Adams

Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, in a statement released on Friday, strongly condemned the recent wave of violence in Benue State, which has led to the deaths of hundreds of people, destruction of property, and displacement of entire communities, insisting that urgent decentralisation of Nigeria’s security architecture remains the only viable solution to the growing insecurity across the country.

The Yoruba generalissimo made this demand in a statement issued on Friday, a copy of which was made available to newsmen, reiterating his long-standing advocacy for restructuring that would ensure the creation of state and local police forces to address the insecurity crisis ravaging the country.

Adams described the spate of killings in Benue, Plateau, and other places across the country as “highly condemnable,” warning that Nigeria’s current centralised security system was failing to protect citizens and maintain peace.

Adams identified the causes of recurring killings in the country to include clashes between herders and farmers, proliferation of arms, weak law enforcement, and economic hardship, warning further that such crises were a grave threat to the nation’s peace, stability, and development.

“The recurring killings in Benue, like those in Plateau and other parts of the country, are the result of a complex web of factors, including clashes between herders and farmers, proliferation of arms, weak law enforcement, and economic hardship. This crisis is a grave threat to our national peace, stability, and development,” he warned.

According to the Yoruba generalissimo, the series of violence in Benue and Plateau has severely disrupted agriculture, which he identified as the backbone of the Middle-Belt region’s economy, thereby worsening food insecurity and poverty in the country.

He added that the killings had not only violated citizens’ constitutional right to life but also threatened Nigeria’s unity and economic future.

Speaking further, Iba Adams, while also expressing concerns over growing insecurity nationwide, cited reports from the U.S. Embassy warning of terrorist activity in Nigeria’s coastal areas and advising American citizens to avoid military zones, particularly in Abuja.

He lamented the rising levels of insecurity across the country—from terrorist attacks in the North, to movement restrictions in the South-East and South-South, and the presence of armed herdsmen in the South-West—sadly noting that the roads from the South-West through Kogi to the North were no longer safe.

According to Adams, the security situation has become so dire that even his office is inundated with daily complaints from communities under threat.

“The roads from the South-West through Kogi to the North are no longer safe. Many now resort to costly air travel, further stressing already struggling households,” Adams said.

The Yoruba generalissimo stressed that despite efforts by the South-West Security Stakeholders Group, which he leads and which comprises 14 private security outfits, there has been little cooperation from the state governments in the region.

He said this has remained the case despite writing to the governors seeking collaboration to address these threats, but stated, “we are handicapped by the limitations of the current security structure.”

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