Former military chiefs, politicians and security experts have called for the establishment of state police, emergency funding for security agencies and comprehensive reforms of Nigeria’s security architecture to address the country’s worsening insecurity.
They made the call on Tuesday at the First Daily Sixth Anniversary National Dialogue on Security held in Abuja, against the backdrop of recent moves by the National Assembly to amend the Constitution and establish state police services.
The dialogue, themed “Declaration of State of Emergency on Security: Matching Words with Action”, brought together the military chiefs, government officials, lawmakers, security experts, traditional rulers, legal practitioners, civil society organisations and members of the diplomatic community.
The speakers included two former Chiefs of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor and Martin Luther Agwai; a former Bayelsa State Governor and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson; and representatives of Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri.
Participants broadly agreed that Nigeria’s security crisis could no longer be addressed through military deployment alone, stressing the need for stronger internal security institutions, better intelligence gathering, increased funding and greater involvement of sub-national governments.
