The growing insecurity across Nigeria has drawn sharp criticism from two prominent regional socio-political organizations: Afenifere, representing the Yoruba people, and the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF). Both groups expressed deep concern over the Federal Government’s inability to effectively manage the escalating violence in various parts of the country and reiterated their long-standing call for the creation of state police as the only viable solution.

Speaking with Vanguard, Afenifere’s acting leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, emphasized that the current security architecture has failed Nigerians. He urged citizens to remain vigilant and prepared in the face of growing uncertainty, describing the national political climate as dangerously unstable. According to Olaitan, the centralized policing model, where state commissioners of police report directly to the federal authorities in Abuja rather than state governors, has rendered state governments powerless in times of crisis. He asserted that the establishment of state-controlled police forces would ensure more responsive and accountable law enforcement at the grassroots level.

Echoing Afenifere’s concerns, High Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, a prominent leader of PANDEF, condemned what he described as the devaluation of human life by security agencies, especially in northern Nigeria where recurring attacks have claimed countless lives. He expressed outrage over the government’s failure to declare a state of emergency in regions experiencing relentless violence, while controversially suspending democratic structures in Rivers State—a decision he believes lacks both constitutional justification and moral grounding.

Sara-Igbe criticized the federal government’s application of the 1999 Constitution, arguing that the power to suspend democratic institutions should only be exercised when there is clear and verifiable evidence of a threat to national peace. He questioned the legitimacy and timing of the political moves in Rivers State, suggesting they were ill-advised and potentially destabilizing.

Both Afenifere and PANDEF maintain that Nigeria’s current security woes stem largely from the concentration of power in the federal government. They argue that decentralizing security by establishing state police commands would empower local authorities to effectively protect their communities. Until such reforms are implemented, they warned, the cycle of violence and impunity will likely continue unchecked.