Former presidential adviser, Laolu Akande, has urged President Bola Tinubu to take a more aggressive and decisive stance on security by supporting the creation of state police in Nigeria. He made the appeal during his My Take segment on the Channels TV programme Inside Sources on Friday, in reaction to the persistent violence in Benue State and other parts of the country.
Akande did not mince words in directly addressing the president:
“Mr. President, you need to be bullish about state police. Let each state be able to run their own internal security. That way, we can begin to hold the governors responsible for whatever is happening in their state. Because under state police or some form of decentralization of the police, the state governments will have more powers. Until then, Mr. President, regarding matters of security, the bug stops at your desk. And it is not enough sir, just to ask Governor Alia to fix what is happening in Benue. That would be your responsibility.”
The former aide’s comments follow President Tinubu’s recent visit to Benue, where over 1,000 lives are reported to have been lost to attacks by armed intruders since February. The visit, Akande noted, must serve as more than a symbolic gesture.
“I’m trusting and believing that now that you have visited Benue for yourself and you have seen the thing for yourself, you will become more decisive about the killings in Benue, about the killings in Plateau, and about the insecurity around the country.”
While acknowledging that the government has made efforts to improve national security, citing statements by National Security Adviser Malam Nuhu Ribadu, Akande stressed that these efforts are not enough in the face of ongoing atrocities.
“There is no denying that government is always making efforts to ensure the security of life and property. However, it is important for the national security advisor and the entire security architecture of government to understand the frustration of the Nigerian people. When you see the persistence—the continuation of the kind of gory things that are going on in places such as Benue—where between February and now there are claims of about a thousand lives lost to callous killings by intruders that are harassing the people and trying to take their land.”
He described the attacks as “impunity that has gone on for far too long,” adding:
“The president went on with a message of reconciliation. It is not a bad message, but Mr. President, the first line of business in Benue is to stop the killings.”
Akande called for a more serious and strategic military presence in Benue and for public accountability through arrests and prosecutions.
“It’s time to bring some people to book. If the impunity continues, the attacks might also continue. Because if the intruders get the idea that they can do this and get off scot-free—which is what they’ve been doing over the years—then they will continue to do it. It’s time to reign in against the intruders. It’s time to make arrests and to make them public. It’s time to begin a serious prosecution of the people that are behind these callous killings, especially in Benue. It’s time to have troops, police and military stationed in strategic places in Benue on a long-term basis to stop what is clearly a mad situation.”
His call for action grew more emotional as he described the scale of human tragedy in the region.
“People are dying for no reasons. People are being burnt, killed like dogs. Mr. President, please use the opportunity of you going there to see the victim for yourself. Use it as an opportunity to stop these killings because you can.”
Akande reminded Tinubu that the office of the president carries immense authority, which must be used decisively to protect lives.
“The office of the president has been endowed with so much powers. It is to enable the president or anyone occupying that office to be able to exert the powers to protect the Nigerian people. What is happening in Benue is not just happening to the people of Benue. Everybody in Nigeria can see it—the impunity, the callousness of the whole act. It is the reason why all of us should rise up and speak up so that this can end.”
He noted that the international community is already taking notice of the crisis:
“Now we have attracted the attention of the United Nations about the Benue killings. Now, we have attracted the attention of Pope Leo. It is a serious matter. A governor in this country has said regarding the situation in Plateau—similar—that there is a genocide. We can no longer treat this with kid gloves.”
Akande’s intervention adds to the growing calls for decentralised policing and a more urgent response to Nigeria’s escalating security crisis, particularly in states like Benue and Plateau, which have suffered repeated attacks from suspected armed herders and militia groups
