• Northwest governors adopt common approach in tackling insecurity
• Onanuga: Nigeria safer than U.S., South Africa
• Armed men killed 10 Benue IDPs – Camp commandant
 
The Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has urged the federal and state governments to expedite action on establishing community policing to stem the tide of insecurity across the country. He made this known yesterday while condemning the attack on three monarchs in Ekiti State that led to the death of two traditional rulers.

 
The gunmen killed the Onimojo of Imojo in the Oye Local Government Area, Oba Olatunde Olusola, and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti in the Ikole Local Government Area, Oba Babatunde Ogunsakin, while the Alara of Ara Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Fatoba in the Ikole Local Government Area, escaped.
 
Reacting to the killing in a statement signed by his spokesman, Moses Olafare, the Ooni, serving as the co-Chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), described the incident as a sacrilegious audacity deliberately planned and executed to undermine the security capacity of Nigeria.
 
He urged Governor Biodun Oyebanji and President Bola Tinubu to expedite thorough investigations into the killings and ensure that the perpetrators face the full wrath of the law.
 
According to him, if this could happen to the traditional rulers, what would then become hopes for their common subjects who look up to them for local security interventions.  He said the recent spate of killings and kidnappings of traditional rulers and school children across the country highlights the urgent need for a robust, community-oriented security system.
 
The monarch argued that community policing, with its emphasis on local involvement, will be helpful in enhancing intelligence gathering, deterring criminal activities, and ensuring the safety of Nigerians.
 
The statement read: “Assassinating traditional rulers in cold blood! This is absolutely unacceptable to us. This reprehensible act has not only robbed us of noble leaders but has also left a scar on the fabric of our unity and peaceful coexistence as a nation. Government must stop at nothing to ensure the perpetrators are arrested and made to face justice.”
 
Similarly, former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has urged President Tinubu to leverage modern technology to address the issues of insecurity in the country, saying the country is on the precipice of disintegration.
 
He also urged the President to put politics aside and invite the old service chiefs and experienced former leaders like General Yakubu Gowon, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, General Abdulsalam Abubakar and General Gusau, among others for discussions, saying the security situation of the country has gone beyond only one man thinking it through.
 
George, who spoke at his Ikoyi office, also questioned the job of the national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, asking what he was still doing in office if managing the security of the country is beyond him.
 
He maintained that Amotekun should be given weapons to carry out their jobs, saying the current image of the country is not impacting on the foreigners that want to do business here.
 
He said: “There are modern equipment the military must buy to address the horrendous security problems in the country.  If we are serious, we can train our people to use drones to address the situation. I was a weapon system engineer in the military. Technology has gone a long way. Get our boys to train about the necessary tools. These guys (kidnappers) are all over the place, it’s like nobody is secure in the country anymore.
 
“Can you imagine the trauma the Lagos State PDP chairman, Philip Aivoji, passed through spending three nights with kidnappers in the bush. Recently two Obas were killed in Ekiti. This is sacrilegious. What exactly is going on?
 
“Former governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, will be remembered in the Southwest for being at the forefront of establishing Amotekun but without giving them weapons, what can they do?
 
“The president must invite all the elders who had one thing in the military to come for discussion. The situation has become a national calamity. We assisted Liberia, Sierra Leone and Somalia. Now that it’s our time, we can’t do it? This raging storm will be quiet if we are deliberate.”
 
Governors from the Northwest zone have pledged to work together and adopt a common approach in tackling security challenges bedeviling the region. Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State, said this during the inauguration of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guard (ZSCPG), on Wednesday in Gusau. He said that banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and other criminal activities had engulfed the region in the past 10 years.
 
According to Radda, effective synergy and the adoption of a common approach by the states will go a long way towards addressing insecurity and foster relative peace in the region.
 
“We have agreed to commit ourselves in fighting banditry and other crimes, and say no to negotiations with any criminal, but those who surrendered and embrace peace would be integrated into the community,” Radda said.
 
The Zamfara state governor, Dauda Lawal, said they would work collectively to address insecurity and socio-economic problems in the region. He said that his administration had trained 2,646 members of the community guard corps to fight crimes in Zamfara in collaboration with the neighbouring states.
 
Also speaking, Gen. Ali Gusau (rtd), lauded the initiative, adding that it would bring peace to the region. “I am here as a father in the state and non-partisan, who believes in the security and wellbeing of Nigerians, I see the governors’ approach to the socio-economic challenges of the states as a welcome development.
 
“A country like Nigeria with a large land area and a population of over 200 million with porous borders is difficult to secure, so a community engagement approach is needed to support the fight,” he said.  He urged security agencies to support the initiative by engaging the community guard corps in operations as well as intelligence gathering and sharing.
 
Despite recent abductions and killings in the country, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has said Nigeria remains one of the safest places to live in the world.
 
Onanuga stated this in an opinion piece he released yesterday, saying that going by figures and data available, Nigeria is safer than South Africa and the United States of America.
 
The presidential aide further rationalized the situation in Nigeria, saying it is not among the top 10 countries with the worst cases of abductions globally. He urged the citizens to stop underrating the efforts the government has been making to fight insecurity since 2009.
 
On Monday, a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) had stated that at least 2,423 people had been killed, while 1,872 had been abducted within the first eight months of President Tinubu’s administration.
 
Reacting to reports of the grim security situation in the country, Onanuga said: “Our security agencies deserve society’s appreciation for their efforts so far, in trying to nip in the bud the evils of kidnapping, banditry, communal killings and terrorism in our country.
 
“Their efforts, most often understated, have made our country safer than South Africa or the United States, where 44,310 people were killed last year in gun violence.
 
“South Africa faces a worsening insecurity than Nigeria. In 2023, 15,343 people were kidnapped, with Gauteng Province, where the City of Johannesburg, the commercial capital, is located recording 7,818 cases of kidnapping for ransom. Ten years ago in 2013, there were only 3,822 cases of kidnapping. They jumped to 11,000 in 2021 and have been on the upward curve since then.
 
“Gun-related killings or murders are also high in South Africa. They increased by 35 percent between 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023, 6,289 people were killed in South Africa.
 
“An average of 70 killings occurred per day between January and March 2023. Within a more extended period, between April 2022 and March 2023, the killings were 75 per day. According to official statistics, 27,272 people were killed during this period, with 11,347 shot dead.
 
Meanwhile, no fewer than 10 internally displaced persons have so far been killed in camps 1 and 2 located in Gbanjimba, headquarters of Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. This was disclosed by the camp commandant, Felix Banke, on Wednesday when the team of the United States Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance visited the camp.
 
There are about 15 official IDP camps located across the state. The acting Executive Secretary of the State Emergency and Management Agency, James Iorpuu, led the USBHA to six IDP camps in the state.
 
While he paid a courtesy call to the governor, Hyacinth Alia, the Senior Humanitarian Advisor, USBHA, Patrick Robinson, stated that their presence in the state was to assess the humanitarian situation and to see areas they could assist in resolving the crisis. Addressing the team, the camp commandant said that herdsmen, last week, invaded and killed one person at IDP camp 1 in Gbanjimba.