Former local government council chairmen in Edo State have called for the immediate integration of local governments into Nigeria’s security architecture, arguing that the country’s worsening insecurity cannot be effectively tackled from Abuja and state capitals alone.
The former council bosses made the demand in a document titled LG Charter on Insecurity 2026: A Demand for Direct Grassroots Action, adopted after a strategic meeting of the Edo State Group of Local Government Council Chairmen (2018–2021) in Benin City.
The communiqué was signed by the Chairman of the Communiqué Drafting Committee and former Chairman of Esan North East Local Government Area, Austine Okoibhole, alongside former Chairman of Uhunmwode Local Government Council, Napoleon Agbama, and former Chairman of Etsako Central Local Government Council, John Akhigbe.
The group maintained that local governments remain Nigeria’s first line of defence against banditry, kidnapping, cultism and armed robbery, stressing that grassroots authorities possess critical intelligence that cannot be replaced by decisions taken from the federal or state capitals.
“As former Chief Security Officers at the grassroots, we present 20 root causes of banditry, kidnapping, cultism and armed robbery and five non-negotiable solutions. Nigeria cannot win this war from Abuja and state capitals alone. The time has come to fund, equip and empower local governments as first responders,” the communiqué stated.
The former chairmen identified unemployment, corruption, porous borders, social inequality, poor education, governance failure, delayed justice, lack of local government autonomy, moral decline and the exclusion of traditional rulers, hunters and vigilante groups from the nation’s security framework as major drivers of insecurity.
To address youth unemployment and rising crime, the group proposed a Security-for-Jobs Programme to be funded by the Federal Government with an annual allocation of ₦500m to each local government.
According to the proposal, the scheme would engage about 833 youths in every council area in community policing, agro-rangers and infrastructure protection while encouraging school enrolment through financial incentives for returning out-of-school children to classrooms.
The group also urged the Federal Government to empower local government chairmen by law to head Joint Security Committees comprising the military, police, Department of State Services, traditional rulers and vigilante groups.
It further recommended the direct release of ₦20m monthly security votes to local governments based on verified intelligence, while border councils should receive ₦1bn special grants and surveillance drones to strengthen security.
On justice delivery, the former chairmen advocated the establishment of mobile courts in local government areas to conclude kidnapping and banditry cases within 90 days.
They also proposed that 30 per cent of recoveries made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from each local government should be invested in CCTV cameras and street lighting in affected communities.
The communiqué further called for the creation of Local Government Natural Resource Committees to co-manage mining and oil sites, with five per cent of royalties paid directly into Local Government Security Trust Funds.
The group equally recommended a ₦200m technology grant for each local government to procure CCTV systems, tracking devices and communication equipment, alongside a ₦5bn annual National Reorientation Fund for peace campaigns at the grassroots.
Describing insecurity as a national emergency, the former council chairmen warned that persistent attacks by kidnappers and bandits were forcing residents out of rural communities, crippling farming activities and threatening national stability.
They urged the Federal Government to adopt the LG Charter on Insecurity 2026 as national policy within 90 days, amend the Constitution to establish state police with local government commands, publish quarterly Local Government Security Scorecards and allocate 20 per cent of the country’s defence budget directly to local governments for grassroots security operations.
“We resolve that security cannot be imported from Abuja and state capitals. It must be built in our wards, villages and local governments. We demand the immediate integration of local governments into Nigeria’s security architecture with money, law, technology and accountability,” the group declared.
