Nigeria’s worsening security challenges are putting fresh pressure on the country’s policing system.
This came as the federal government yesterday announced the appointment of Professor Emmanuel Olukemi Rotimi of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, to the Policy Advisory Committee of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill.
Insecurity in parts of the country has continued to disrupt the lives of residents, with communities facing attacks by bandits, kidnappers and other armed groups, reports The Guardian.
While President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security and intelligence agencies to intensify efforts to rescue victims of the Niger mosque abduction, there are concerns about the vulnerability of many other communities.
Last week Friday, the attackers stormed Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district of the Borgu local government area at around 2 p.m. after first attacking Gidan-Zana and Kpenya villages, police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said.
Borgu council chairman Abdullahi Mohammed Nasir said at least 60 people were abducted and an unspecified number of people sustained gunshot injuries while attempting to escape.
The situation has also heightened concerns over the ability of residents to protect themselves as armed attacks persist.
In Sokoto State, a video showed an Islamic cleric carrying what appeared to be a pump-action firearm while moving with members of his congregation.
The video, shared on X by D English Alhaji Media, showed the cleric, dressed in Islamic attire, carrying the firearm as he walked alongside members of his congregation.
The identity of the cleric, the circumstances surrounding the incident and the exact location where the video was recorded could not be independently verified.
The development came amid renewed attacks on communities in parts of Sokoto State, where residents have continued to face threats from armed bandits and kidnappers.
At least five people were killed and several others abducted after armed bandits simultaneously attacked three communities in Wurno Local Government Area of the state.
The incidents have raised concerns about the extent to which persistent insecurity is forcing residents to flee their communities or resort to carrying firearms for protection.
VDM alleges security agencies know kidnappers’ whereabouts, calls for citizens’ access to firearms
Social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has accused Nigeria’s security agencies of knowing the identities and whereabouts of perpetrators of kidnappings and violent attacks but failing to apprehend them.
Otse made the allegation while speaking as a panellist at the 2026 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he appeared alongside the Inspector-General of Police and other security chiefs.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Known Gun Men’, the activist said security agencies knew the identities and locations of those behind violent attacks.
“You people know where these people are. You people know these ‘unknown gunmen’. But nothing is happening,” he said.
Otse also challenged the description of attackers as “unknown gunmen”, alleging that some personnel of security agencies, including the military, Immigration and Customs, were involved in insecurity.
“There are no unknown gunmen anywhere. The military men are the unknown gunmen, the Immigration, the Customs they are the unknown gunmen. Nobody else,” he said.
He questioned the effectiveness of police checkpoints on major highways, particularly the Lagos-Abuja route, amid persistent kidnappings.
Otse alleged that some security personnel at checkpoints could identify potential victims based on their vehicles and pass information to kidnappers.
“When you pass with a car, you will meet a checkpoint, the policeman tells you to wind down the car glass, open your boot, you open it. Believe me, everybody knows who is rich, who is poor, and everybody knows the people that belong to the middle class,” he said.
According to him, such information could subsequently be used to identify motorists who might be capable of paying ransom.
The activist also called on the government to make provisions for citizens to protect themselves, including making it easier for them to access firearms, arguing that the police and military were insufficient to protect a population of over 200 million people.
“They need to make provisions for citizens to protect themselves. Make it easy for us to get guns because right now they are understaffed. They can’t protect everybody,” he said.
“How many are there? The police and the military are not up to a million protecting over 200 million people.”
He, however, acknowledged the importance of security agencies in tackling insecurity and called for improved welfare for personnel.
“Until we take care of them properly, they will keep on turning on us,” he said.
Otse said insecurity had also extended to the judiciary, citing the reported abduction of a judge travelling from Sokoto who was kidnapped in Kebbi State on July 26 and held for about a week before his release.
“This is not the topic of ‘if I may, my Lord’, because a lot of your lords are being kidnapped,” he told the lawyers.
He said his views on insecurity were informed by firsthand experiences at scenes of violence, claiming he was among the first responders at Yelwata and other attack locations.
“I have seen blood and seen people burnt alive,” he said, recalling the aftermath of attacks, including a Sallah Day bombing in Borno and incidents linked to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
Otse described the Yelwata killings as retaliation following the killing of a Fulani man, saying the subsequent attack was carried out in response.
He also criticised the Nigerian media for what he described as inadequate coverage of violent attacks and their consequences.
Otse said he attended the session to share his experiences of insecurity rather than teach lawyers the law.
FG appoints OAU don to committee drafting National Policing Bill
The federal government’s appointment of Professor Emmanuel Olukemi Rotimi is based on his extensive scholarship and research into the history, evolution and challenges of policing in Nigeria, particularly the country’s experience with decentralised police institutions before military rule.
The proposed legislation is expected to provide the legal and operational framework for a dual policing structure comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services, with provisions covering their responsibilities, funding, accountability and oversight.
The Presidential Working Group, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has a seven-week timetable to produce an implementation-ready draft of the bill for submission to the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The Policy Advisory Committee, chaired by retired Justice Mohammed Abdullahi Liman, is responsible for providing policy direction, issuing drafting instructions and validating the contents of the proposed legislation.
Rotimi, a professor in OAU’s Department of History, has devoted a significant part of his academic career to the study of Nigeria’s policing system.
His master’s thesis examined the Native Administration Police Forces of Western Nigeria between 1905 and 1951, while his doctoral research traced the history of Native Administration Police Forces across Nigeria from 1900 to 1970.
His 2001 book, The Police in a Federal State: The Nigerian Experience, examined the origins, development, organisation and eventual abolition of Native Authority and Local Government police forces.
The professor has also argued that the current debate on State Police should be considered within Nigeria’s historical experience with decentralised policing. He has stressed the need for transparent funding, effective training, public accountability and safeguards against political abuse in any new policing arrangement.
These issues are expected to feature in the proposed legislation, alongside national standards, state readiness, inspection mechanisms, complaints procedures, firearms control, data sharing, Federal intervention and institutional oversight.
Rotimi’s appointment is expected to bring historical and academic perspectives to the formulation of a policing framework aimed at addressing contemporary security challenges while addressing the institutional weaknesses that undermined earlier decentralised policing arrangements.
OAU congratulated Rotimi on his appointment, describing it as recognition of his scholarship and sustained contribution to national discourse on policing and security reform.
NHRC boss seeks urgent establishment of State Police
This came as the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Anthony Ojukwu, called for the urgent establishment of State Police, warning that Nigeria’s overstretched centralised policing system is leaving millions of citizens vulnerable to insecurity.
Ojukwu made the call in Port Harcourt during a panel session at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
He said the size of Nigeria’s population, compared with the number of police personnel available, had made rapid response to security threats increasingly difficult.
“If you don’t have State Police, you can never have adequate security. We have over 200 million people in Nigeria with far less number of policemen to police them. The response time is so long that we only live by God’s grace,” he said.
According to him, decentralising policing would enable officers to respond faster because they would be familiar with local terrain, communities and emerging security threats.
“With State Police, the governors will have the wherewithal to respond quickly. The police will be more effective because they know the terrain; they know the people,” he said.
However, Ojukwu warned that decentralisation without adequate safeguards could create opportunities for abuse of power, including political repression, unlawful arrests, intimidation and violations of fundamental rights.
He urged the federal government and lawmakers to ensure that legislation establishing State Police contains strong accountability mechanisms, independent oversight and clear safeguards for citizens.
“We must insist that when the National Policing Bill comes, it must be well drafted. There must be a board that runs it. There must be oversight. Otherwise, it will become another problem,” Ojukwu cautioned.
He said effective policing should be assessed by respect for human dignity, due process and the rule of law, alongside the effectiveness of law enforcement operations.
Ojukwu also urged lawyers to become stronger advocates for accountability in policing and challenge unlawful conduct by security agencies.
Tinubu orders intensified efforts to rescue Niger mosque abductees
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security and intelligence agencies to intensify efforts to rescue victims of the Niger mosque abduction.
The directive followed the abduction of an unspecified number of worshippers by gunmen in communities across Borgu Local Government Area shortly after Friday’s Juma’at prayer at the central mosque in Dekara.
The president’s order was contained in a statement issued yesterday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu expressed outrage over the abduction and killing of innocent citizens by criminal elements in the state.
“Those who carried out this cowardly attack on defenceless Nigerians are enemies of peace and enemies of humanity, who will not go scot-free,” he said.
The president condoled with the families of those killed in the attack and assured them that efforts would continue until the abducted victims were rescued.
“I extend my deepest condolences to the families of those who were killed in this barbaric assault and pray that Almighty God grants them eternal rest, and grant their loved ones the fortitude to bear this painful loss.
“You are not alone. The entire nation shares your anguish. We will not rest until your sons, daughters, mothers and fathers are brought back safely to you,” he said.
Tinubu also directed the Service Chiefs to provide him with regular briefings on the progress of the rescue operation until all the abducted victims were accounted for.
He said terror would not cow Nigeria, stressing the need to defend the people, protect communities and uphold the sanctity of human life.
