Former Secretary of the National Democratic Coalition, Ayo Opadokun, has called on President Bola Tinubu to restructure the security architecture in the country, saying the current structure cannot end the security challenges, including killings in the northern part of the country.
He stated this against the backdrop of the recent attack on three local government areas in Plateau State by suspected terrorists which claimed over 150 lives on Christmas Eve while over 10,000 were reportedly displaced.
The terrorists reportedly stormed the villages with 30 motorcycles shot intermittently, destroyed properties and killed people.
Barely four days after, the terrorists threatened fresh attack on a community in the state, while gunmen struck, and killed three people in Bokkos Local Government Area of the state.
Although, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa, said they had made significant progress in capturing suspects linked to the attacks, he stated that they were working with the state governments to identify areas captured by terrorists with the aim of reclaiming them.
However, Opadokun, while speaking in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, said, “The current security architecture in Nigeria cannot deliver, that is why the violence has thrived over the years.
“Buhari as a retired military general promised us that as soon as he got to office, he would defeat the then-raging security crisis but he failed, rather it got worse and that is the situation we are still in.”
To change the current security arrangement, Opadokun stated that the President should approve the implementation of state police to give the state governors full control of the security of their states.
“A situation where someone will sit in Abuja to determine the security situation in Offa Local Government Area, what does he know about it? That is why the states are in a better position to determine the architecture of security in the apparatus that will be established in their state.
