Nigeria’s worsening security challenges are putting fresh pressure on the country’s policing system, as attacks by bandits and kidnappers continue to disrupt communities across several states.

The Federal Government yesterday announced the appointment of Professor Emmanuel Olukemi Rotimi of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, to the Policy Advisory Committee of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, even as President Bola Tinubu ordered the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS) and other agencies to intensify efforts to rescue victims of the Niger State mosque abduction.

Last Friday, attackers stormed Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district of Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State at around 2 p.m., after first attacking Gidan-Zana and Kpenya villages, police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said.

Borgu council chairman Abdullahi Mohammed Nasir said at least 60 people were abducted, with an unspecified number sustaining gunshot injuries while attempting to escape.

In Sokoto State, at least five people were killed and several others abducted after armed bandits simultaneously attacked three communities in Wurno Local Government Area.

Separately, a video shared on X by D English Alhaji Media showed an Islamic cleric carrying what appeared to be a pump-action firearm while walking with members of his congregation; the cleric’s identity, the circumstances of the incident and the exact location could not be independently verified.

The incidents have created more concern over the extent to which persistent insecurity is forcing residents to flee their communities or resort to carrying weapons for protection.

VDM Accuses Security Agencies Of Knowing Attackers’ Identities

Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has alleged that Nigeria’s security agencies know the identities and whereabouts of those behind kidnappings and violent attacks but have failed to act.

He made the allegation as a panellist at the 2026 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he appeared alongside the Inspector-General of Police and other security chiefs.

“You people know where these people are. You people know these ‘unknown gunmen’. But nothing is happening,” he said, challenging the description of attackers as “unknown gunmen” and alleging that some personnel within the military, Immigration and Customs are involved in insecurity.

He also alleged that some security personnel at highway checkpoints, particularly on the Lagos-Abuja route, identify potential kidnap victims by their vehicles and pass the information to kidnappers, and called on government to make it easier for citizens to access firearms for self-protection, while acknowledging the need for better welfare for security personnel.

NHRC Boss Calls For Urgent Establishment Of State Police

Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Anthony Ojukwu, has called for the urgent establishment of State Police, warning that Nigeria’s overstretched centralised system leaves millions of citizens vulnerable.

Speaking at the same NBA conference, Ojukwu said the mismatch between Nigeria’s population and its number of police personnel has made rapid response to threats increasingly difficult.

“If you don’t have State Police, you can never have adequate security. We have over 200 million people in Nigeria with far less number of policemen to police them,” he said, adding that decentralised policing would let officers respond faster because they know local terrain and communities.

He warned, however, that decentralisation without safeguards could enable abuse of power, including political repression and unlawful arrests, and called on the Federal Government to ensure the National Policing Bill includes strong oversight mechanisms.

New Bill Aims to Create Federal and State Police Structure

The proposed National Policing Bill is expected to provide the legal and operational framework for a dual policing structure comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services, covering their responsibilities, funding, accountability and oversight.

The Presidential Working Group, chaired by Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, has a seven-week timetable to produce an implementation-ready draft for submission to the Federal Ministry of Justice, while the Policy Advisory Committee, chaired by retired Justice Mohammed Abdullahi Liman, is responsible for policy direction and drafting instructions.

Rotimi’s appointment reflects his decades of research into Nigeria’s policing history, including his doctoral work tracing Native Administration Police Forces from 1900 to 1970 and his 2001 book, The Police in a Federal State: The Nigerian Experience.

He has argued that current debates on state policing should draw on Nigeria’s earlier experience with decentralised police forces, and has called for transparent funding, effective training and safeguards against political abuse, issues expected to feature in the final legislation.