Only local security initiatives can curtail banditry, other crimes — Ikpea

The senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District, Joseph Ikpea, has said that for Nigeria to successfully curtail the spiral rate of insecurity, the various local government areas must take local initiatives suitable for their environments as security measures against the menace of banditry, kidnapping and other crimes.

Senator Ikpea, who gave the admonition in Benin City, Edo State capital, while speaking with journalists, expressed worry over the state of security in the country and its seemingly intractable nature.  

The senator said the three security outposts he built in parts of Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State when he was the chairman of the local government area, are what security agencies are using today to check insecurity in the senatorial district.

While adding that he built the security outposts at a time security was relatively high, disclosed that the maintenance of the facilities and other pro-people projects are what he injected into the 2026 budget, and pledged to ensure that the projects are all executed.

Ikpea, who is the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 National Assembly election, lauded the development efforts of Governor Monday Okpebholo, and said he is ensuring that all the governor’s inputs in the budget he presented as a senator before he became the governor are implemented.

He said: “Before we were sworn as chairmen, some money was saved for the councils and this money, we were told, would be used for capital projects.

 “I initiated capital projects that comprehensively covered a lot of things. Among them were security posts now being used to check insecurity and kidnapping in Edo central.

“Security, like politics is local. All local government areas’ chairmen must look inwards and device means of effectively checkmating the activities of the criminals operating in their localities. This is what we did by that local initiative of constructing those security outposts at a time insecurity was not a big challenge,” Ikpea said.

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He noted that a provision is also in the budget of 2026 to maintain the facilities.

“When I was chairman of the council, there was no water, in the secretariat. We were going to the prison yard to fetch water, but I provided a borehole for the council and also acquired another source of electricity to power the council and the borehole,”  he added.

Ikpea stated that his administration also built a magistrate court in Ubiaja which was built from scratch to completion in addition to donating hospital equipment to all the health centres in the local government area.

The senator said as a member of the Board of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), he attracted the renovation of public primary schools in the senatorial district and facilitated the employment of 550 teachers into the state civil service.

Ikpea disclosed that since he was sworn-in in October 2025, he had been able to attract rehabilitation work in a primary school in Uromi through supplementary budget.