Introduction: A multi-faceted crisis requires multi-layered solutions
Nigeria faces a complex security landscape that extends beyond the policing system. While police reform and focused counter-terrorism measures are essential, experts and political actors argue that enduring security improvements demand a broader set of reforms. These include governance, community policing, border management, justice sector efficiency, socioeconomic development, and strategic intelligence. The discussion has intensified after public statements from political groups calling for more than cosmetic changes, warning that quick fixes may underscore deeper systemic problems.
Why policing alone cannot solve Nigeria’s security puzzle
Policing is a critical tool against crime and violence, but it cannot single-handedly resolve issues rooted in governance gaps, regional conflicts, poverty, unemployment, and illicit networks. Experts point to the need for a holistic safety framework that strengthens institutions, builds community trust, and coordinates across federal, state, and local levels. When security is treated as a police matter alone, gaps in rule of law, information sharing, and accountability often persist, enabling recurring cycles of violence and insecurity.
Institutional capacity and accountability
Strengthening institutions beyond the police is crucial. This includes the judiciary’s efficiency, correctional reforms, and robust oversight mechanisms to curb abuses that erode public trust. A credible security framework relies on transparent processes, predictable legal outcomes, and proportional use of force. Without these, security efforts risk becoming expedient or selective, undermining citizen confidence and cooperation.
Key areas for comprehensive security reform
Proponents of a non-cosmetic approach emphasize several core areas:
- Countering violent extremism: Expanding community-based interventions, de-radicalization programs, and credible incentives for peaceful engagement, especially in regions with long-running grievances.
- Intelligence and border management: Modernizing information sharing between security agencies, improving border controls, and disrupting cross-border criminal networks that fuel violence and trafficking.
- Economic and social development: Addressing unemployment, poverty, and lack of opportunity, which often drive crime and unrest. Sustained development reduces the pool of individuals susceptible to criminal networks.
- Judicial and corrections reform: Expediting cases, reducing congestion in courts, and ensuring humane, accountable detention practices to restore faith in the justice system.
- Community policing and trust-building: Engaging communities as partners, expanding civilian oversight, and breaking down barriers between law enforcement and residents through dialogue and transparency.
- Strategic use of resources: Aligning budgets with clear security priorities, avoiding duplication among agencies, and ensuring procurement processes are transparent to prevent corruption-driven inefficiencies.
Political commentary: the concern over ‘cosmetic’ police withdrawal from VIP protection
The ADC and other political voices have flagged a potential misstep: withdrawing police protection from high-profile individuals as a quick political appeasement rather than as part of a coherent security policy. Such moves could create unintended security gaps, be exploited by criminals, or shift risk rather than reduce it. Critics argue that any withdrawal strategy should be part of a broader, well-resourced security architecture that includes intelligence-driven protection, diversified security assets, and clear lines of accountability.
What a credible reform agenda would look like in practice
A credible security reform agenda requires:
- Clear, cross-agency leadership with a long-term security strategy;
- Investments in technology and training that modernize policing and border control;
- Mechanisms to ensure lawful, proportional, and accountable security operations;
- Community partnerships that elevate civilian input in security planning;
- Economic and social policies designed to reduce drivers of violence and crime.
Conclusion: Security success hinges on governance, not gadgets
Ultimately, Nigeria’s security challenges cannot be solved by policing alone or by cosmetic policy maneuvers. A durable solution requires governance reforms, stronger institutions, robust social development, and credible, inclusive security practices. Political actors, including the ADC, call for seriousness and focus—ensuring that any reform moves advance the security and well-being of all Nigerians rather than merely signaling change to different segments of the population.
