…Says they’ve failed in their responsibilities
…Advocates shift of roles to traditional rulers
DISTURBED by the spiraling waves of insecurity in the country, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State has lambasted security agencies, saying they have failed the nation in their responsibilities.
Advocating the shift of more security roles to traditional rulers, Governor Bello said he has lost confidence in the security agencies over their failure to tackle pockets of insecurity across the country, particularly Niger State in recent times.
Governor Bello said because of the failure of the security agencies, government should empower traditional rulers by giving them more security votes to tackle the security challenges.
“I support that we go back to traditional ways of security in our various communities because traditional system performed better in the past and they can do better now if they are given more powers. So, I recommend that more powers be given to traditional rulers on security,” the governor declared.
The governor, who spoke when Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers led by its Chairman, the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, paid him Sallah homage at Government House, yesterday, said despite the huge amount of money his administration was giving security agencies in the state monthly, the wave of crime was on the increase and the agencies have failed to make the state safe.
His words: “We spend a lot of money on security but we do not have a safe environment. In Niger State, we spend N100 million every month on security and I am sure that if we spend a fraction of that money on traditional rulers, we will get better results than what we have now.”
Bello lamented the level of insecurity in the state and called on all residents to rise to the challenge by personally tackling the wave headway instead of depending solely on the security agencies.
He called on both Christians and Muslims to embark on fervent prayers to overcome the security challenge, saying: “More than ever before, we need a lot of prayers in Niger State because we are now faced with a new wave of security challenge that is unusual.
“There is a new wave of kidnapping, murder, armed robbery and clashes. It is a new wave that seems to be engulfing the state. People have decided to take laws into their hands and kill because they have conflict with others and this clearly shows that we are in trouble because these happenings are alien to us.”
The governor then called on the traditional rulers to enlighten their subjects on the need to be more security conscious and report any strange movement in their areas to the appropriate quarters.
VANGUARD
