Northwest leaders have renewed the call for a unified and decentralized security architecture to confront the worsening insecurity in the region.
They spoke on Saturday during the north-west session of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on National Security Summit held in Kaduna.
The summit, themed “Building Robust Regional Collaboration to Tackle Insecurity: Pathways for Securing the Future,” brought together senators, governors, traditional rulers, academics and security experts to review escalating banditry, kidnappings and cross-border criminality in the zone.
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, pushed for the establishment of a North-west Theatre Command to unify all military and security operations under a single operational structure.
He said only an integrated system rooted in community trust, cross-border partnerships and structural reforms could deliver long-term peace.
He added a strong push for State Police, saying the national mood had finally aligned with what he had championed years earlier.
According to him, “During my time in the Senate, I championed constitutional reforms to create State Police. I sponsored four major bills; SP 592, SP 594, SP 595 and others, aimed at decentralizing policing, strengthening oversight and modernizing law enforcement. These bills advanced, but at the time, we did not have full national consensus.”
Governor Sani said the consensus now exists across the country, “today, virtually every governor agrees that progress is impossible without State Police,” he said. “Many states already rely on vigilante services, Sokoto, Katsina, Kano and others, but they remain ineffective because the law forbids them from carrying the weapons needed for self-protection. Sending them out unarmed amounts to a death sentence.”
He insisted that State Police must be built on safeguards that prevent political abuse and preserve professionalism.
“A new policing architecture must include an Independent State Police Commission, clear oversight mechanisms, professional standards and strict limits on political interference. This is the model I have advocated for years.”
Beyond policing reforms, Governor Sani pressed for deeper regional synergy, saying that, “the North-west requires an integrated system that balances military effectiveness, community engagement and development.
The central component should be the creation of a North-west Theatre Command, bringing the Army’s 1 Division and F Division under a unified structure.”
He also proposed permanent security committees at state and local government levels comprising traditional rulers, religious leaders, women’s groups, youth organisations, civil society and security agencies.
The Defence Minister, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, stressed that the government was committed to a whole-of-society approach, warning that Nigeria cannot rely solely on military solutions.
He said progress had been recorded with the reopening of major routes, activation of Forward Operating Bases and the return of displaced villagers, but more work remained to tackle bandits, terror cells and organized criminal networks.
“The shield of the Armed Forces must be paired with the foundation of a Whole-of-Society Approach. National security cannot be achieved by the military alone; it requires the active participation of every citizen,” the minister said.
Badaru commended governors for establishing complementary security outfits such as the Community Protection Guard in Zamfara and the Community Watch Corps in Katsina, describing them as effective force multipliers.
He also acknowledged the role of traditional rulers, religious leaders, women, youth and civil society in mobilizing communities and strengthening resilience.
Professor Muhammad Kabir Isa of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, identified governance deficits, poverty, unemployment and environmental stress as core drivers of insecurity. He called for a multidimensional framework that addresses the root causes alongside military operations.
The summit resolved to establish a regional security collaboration mechanism for the North-west as part of broader national efforts to stabilise the country and entrench sustainable development.
Earlier, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Senator Babangida Hussaini, said similar meetings had been held in other zones as a prelude to the National Security Summit slated for December 1, 2025, in Abuja.
He described the initiative as evidence of the Senate’s sensitivity to Nigeria’s worsening security challenges and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to finding actionable and lasting solutions.
Hussaini noted that the North-west’s security problems, from banditry and kidnappings to ransom-driven exploitation and humanitarian displacement, required a holistic and region-specific intervention.
“This summit provides an auspicious opportunity to examine cross-cutting issues fuelling insecurity in the North-west and to suggest practical pathways toward lasting solutions,” he said.
