Squaring Up Security

Shaken by cascading violence and insecurity, the Nigerian government must apply sustainable measures to pursue peace and stability. In the last decade, Nigeria\’s security challenges have grown in scale and frequency. Across regions, existing and emerging violent conflicts threaten state authority and the lives and livelihoods of its people. Unfortunately, security actors appear overwhelmed to manage the uncertain security climate. The situation has led to numerous additional security arrangements to complement the efforts of formal security institutions.

From calls for state police, the creation of regional security and vigilante frameworks and now to community policing arrangements, Nigeria must get its security right. Over the years, demands by various state governors for state police have remained fruitless. Arguably, the federal government favours community policing, ensuring its continued exclusive responsibility of policing the country. However, nearly all the geo-political zones have created \”complementary\” regional security mechanisms to address internal security challenges. Moreover, some state governments have created vigilante networks, hunters\’ associations and forest guards that operate internally, and some are reported to be performing quasi-policing functions. With a community policing take-off grant of ₦13.3 billion announced by President Buhari on 11th October 2021, the initiative has become the latest card in the game of managing Nigeria\’s current security challenges.

Why is community policing desirable? The key argument favouring community policing is that it encourages fruitful partnerships between security agencies, officers, and the public. In addition to this, a well-implemented community policing framework is one of the pathways towards sustainable security for all. In developing and developed nations, community policing is being used to make the police more accountable to their citizens. For Nigeria, community policing must achieve a number of things. First, it should provide complementary roles to formal security agencies. Second, help tackle rising insecurity. Third, build lasting relationships between the society and security organisations. Years of ineffectual securitisation, incidents that led to the build-up and aftermath of the \”#End SARS\” protests and continued perception of corrupt police personnel all point to the need for robust and citizen-centred implementation of community policing in Nigeria.

To deliver on its promise of good outcomes, community policing implementation must consider some inherent factors. Nigeria\’s adopted policing model promises good outcomes if accurately implemented. However, scholars have faulted the country\’s police structure as a colonial legacy alien to the people and their culture. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the current concept of police in Nigeria is a \’colonial import which reflects a Western legalistic definition of crime\’. Therefore, right from the sensitisation stage, the government must capture the buy-in of community stakeholders. Alternative actions may deny the new initiative the local support that is needed for its success. Sensitisation of local actors is key to building the momentum for local support and involvement.

Putting distinct ethnicities and cultures into context. Nigeria\’s multiethnic status makes community policing a bumpy ride, and divided communities are prone to violent conflict. Most local conflicts and security challenges in Nigeria have ethnoreligious, communal and political ties. Others are closely knitted in structural violence, indigene-settler dichotomies, land wars, ancient stereotypes and unresolved disputes. The purposes of community policing will be lost if its members assert their affiliations over the business of tackling local crimes and conflicts. Hasisi (2008) argues that there are tense relations between the minority and the police, especially in deeply divided societies. Such tense relations can be followed by unbalanced and unfair policing. Lack of objectivity and professionalism by community policing personnel may hijack the state-backed authority to promote group agenda. Therefore, community policing strategy should favour community cohesion.

Developing a unique template. Considering diverse local entities and security risks, developing a cross-cutting community policing template may appear unrealistic for government. However, it is the best alternative to ensure that community policing frameworks and activities can be comprehensively regulated and evaluated. The policy framework must be designed to align and collaborate with existing community-based groups to understand community needs. Based on distinct and inherent security challenges in the respective states and supported by experts, the Nigerian government should design a robust community policing template for the use of state-level authorities. The template should also create room for mainstreaming existing quasi-security arrangements such as vigilante groups, local hunters, and forest guards. The idea of community policing comes in a time of significant police trust deficit and security needs. Through robust design and implementation, government can deliver good outcomes with the initiative.