North West Leaders Unveil Unified Security Plan To Curb Banditry
By ABDUL AHMED (A.A.) RUFUS
LEADERS from government, security agencies, and academia have agreed on a coordinated regional strategy to address insecurity in Nigeria’s North West.
At the North West Zonal Security Summit in Kaduna, Governor Uba Sani called for an integrated framework combining military action with community engagement and development. He proposed a North West Theatre Command to unify the 1st and 8th Army Divisions for faster responses and improved intelligence sharing. He also urged stronger border security and the expansion of the Multinational Joint Task Force to disrupt cross-border criminal networks.
Governor Sani emphasized the role of permanent state and local Security Committees, involving traditional leaders, youth, women, and civil society, as early-warning and conflict-resolution platforms. He reiterated the need for State Police to address the overstretched national force.
Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar highlighted joint military successes in reopening key routes and markets, returning displaced communities, and reopening schools, while noting persistent threats from bandits and terror cells.
Security scholar Prof. Muhammad Kabir Isa stressed that past interventions failed due to poor coordination and unaddressed structural causes of insecurity.
Senator Babangida Hussaini said the summit’s outcomes would inform the National Security Summit in Abuja on December 1, reflecting President Tinubu’s commitment to lasting solutions.
