Insecurity: Enugu LG Chairman Calls for Decentralisation of Policing

Linus Aleke in Abuja

The Chairman of Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State, Hon. Ugo Ferdinand Ukwueze, has renewed calls for the decentralisation of policing in Nigeria, describing it as a necessary response to the country’s worsening security challenges. 

He argued that devolving policing powers to the states would strengthen security operations, improve intelligence gathering and ensure quicker responses to threats at the grassroots level.

Ukwueze maintained that policing closer to the people would foster stronger collaboration between security agencies and local communities, while compelling state governments to take greater responsibility for the protection of lives and property. 

According to him, decentralised policing would also enhance accountability, as citizens would be better positioned to hold their leaders responsible for security lapses within their domains.

Highlighting the cross-border nature of insecurity, the council chairman said states cannot effectively secure their territories in isolation. 

“We owe it a duty to protect our people and our land,” he said, adding that without a coordinated approach among neighbouring states, policing efforts would remain weak and fragmented.

He cited a recent kidnapping incident invo-lving Reverend Sisters in Eburummiri, Ibagwa-Aka, within his local government area, as an illustration of the shortcomings of the current security structure. 

Ukwueze disclosed that his investigations led him through forests bordering Enugu State, Kogi State and Uzo-Uwani, where he uncovered criminal camps unknown to the authorities. 

According to him, these camps are occupied by foreigners masquerading as herdsmen, who reside there for weeks or months and launch attacks on nearby communities before retreating into the forests with their victims.

Ukwueze lamented that Nigeria’s existing security architecture makes inter-state operations cumbersome, stressing that his efforts to rescue the kidnapped victims were hampered by jurisdictional limitations. 

He explained that although the victims were eventually located in Kogi State, effective action required extensive collaboration between the Enugu and Kogi State Governments, as well as coordination with local government authorities and vigilante groups in the boundary communities.

Calling for a comprehensive restructuring of the nation’s security framework, the council chairman said decentralised or state policing would eliminate many of these challenges. 

Under such a system, he noted, Commissioners of Police and Divisional Police Officers would take directives directly from state governments rather than from police headquarters in Abuja. 

This, he argued, would ensure faster decision-making and remove the excuse of delayed directives from the centre in cases of security breaches.

Ukwueze further contended that state policing would empower citizens to demand accountability from their leaders, insisting that any failure to secure lives and property would rest squarely on the shoulders of the government in power.

He also pointed to Enugu State as an emerging example of proactive security governance, praising Governor Peter Mbah for taking early steps towards implementing elements of state policing. 

According to Ukwueze, the state’s Command and Control Centre located in the Lion Building already provides surveillance coverage across Enugu State, demonstrating what is possible even ahead of full constitutional backing.

“Although we are not yet fully there, we have moved from an obscured position to the limelight,” he said.

Ukwueze added that Governor Mbah’s commitment to security reform has set him apart from his peers and justified the President’s decision to appoint him as chairman of a national committee on security, further underscoring the importance of decentralised policing in addressing Nigeria’s security crisis.