Oyo kidnap: Bala Mohammed calls for security overhaul, links insecurity to governance failures

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has called for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture, saying the country’s persistent insecurity reflected deeper challenges of poor governance, poverty and inadequate collaboration between security agencies.

Mohammed made the call on Sunday during a visit to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde in Ibadan, where he sympathised with the government and people of Oyo State over the abduction of teachers and pupils from Yawota and Esinele communities in Oriire Local Government Area.

The Bauchi governor, who was accompanied by leaders of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), including National Chairman Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle and the party’s governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Dr Yakubu Adamu, said the country’s security failures are connected to years of neglect of rural communities, unemployment and the proliferation of small arms.

While expressing confidence that the abducted teachers and pupils would regain their freedom, Mohammed commended the Oyo State Government for its efforts to secure their release and urged other governors to adopt a more community-driven approach to security.

“The security situation in this country has gone beyond what any single state can handle alone. We need a comprehensive national response, anchored on community engagement, intelligence sharing and investment in poverty reduction programmes,” Mohammed said.

He also criticised the over-reliance on kinetic solutions, arguing that long-term peace would only come from addressing the root causes of insecurity, including unemployment, illiteracy and the collapse of infrastructure in rural areas.

Governor Makinde thanked his Bauchi counterpart for the solidarity visit and briefed him on the steps the Oyo State Government had taken since the abduction, including the deployment of additional security personnel, the activation of local hunters and vigilante groups, and ongoing negotiations with the abductors.

The Oyo governor said his administration was also working on a state-wide forest security architecture to forestall a recurrence of similar incidents, and that the state was collaborating with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to dismantle drug networks that fund criminality in border communities.

The two governors also discussed the possibility of inter-state collaboration on livestock management, agricultural production and youth empowerment, with both men agreeing that northern and southern states stood to benefit from working together on common challenges.

Sources: Vanguard