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An attack this week on a police headquarters and prison in southeastern Nigeria is the latest example of the country’s fast-deteriorating security situation, which is raising deeper questions about the unity of this fractious regional superpower, political and security analysts warn.
“The state no longer has the monopoly of force, it’s lost control,” Idayat Hassan, director of the Abuja-based Centre for Democracy and Development, told The New Humanitarian. “From the north to the south, life has become nasty, brutish, and short.”
Gunmen stormed the Imo State police command in Owerri on Monday, using explosives to get in. They then looted the armoury, torched the building, and headed to the nearby Owerri Correctional Centre, where they freed over 1,800 prisoners.
Southeast: A region under siege guardian.ng - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from guardian.ng Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Northern Governors’ Forum has told the Acting Inspector General (IG) of Police, Usman Baba, to take proactive measures in tackling insecurity in Nigeria.
The Chairman of the forum, Simon Lalong, in a congratulatory message to the acting IG by his Director of Press and Public Affairs Dr. Makut Macham, on Saturday in Jos, said the forum would give Baba all the necessary support to enable him secure the lives and properties of Nigerians.
He said Baba’s appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari was well deserved, considering his track record of diligent service to the nation.
He said: “As northern governors, we remain committed to community policing and any other measure that will lead to securing our region which has been bedeviled by different forms of insecurity.
Fri Apr 09 2021
Yesterday, I gave the lead paper at a National Town Hall Meeting organised by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, at Kaduna State University. The theme was setting benchmarks for enhanced security and national unity in Nigeria. It was well attended by a cross-section of commanders of various security agencies and selected members of the public from all over the country. The thrust of the meeting was for all Nigerians to accept that the country was headed for the brinks and there was an urgent need to pull it back from the brinks. It was the honesty of this concern that convinced me it was worth attending. I started by giving the following quote:
Ex-Gov Rochas Okorocha and Gov Hope Uzodinma
The Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday said Monday’s attacks on Owerri Correctional Centre and the state Police Command headquarters were indications that Governor Hope Uzodinma had failed.
At a press conference in Owerri, the state capital, the PDP chairman in the state, Charles Ugwu, urged the governor to stop the blame game and take responsibility.
The PDP chairman stated that the spate of insecurity in the state since December was a proof that the governor had nothing to offer to the people of the state.
Ugwu, who traced the trajectory of the insecurity from Orlu Zone to Okigwe Zone and Owerri Zone, expressed worry that the state was sitting on a keg of a gun powder.