‘Context-specific measures will solve Nigeria’s security challenges’ – Alaafin
By Adejayan Gbenga
The Alaafin of Oyo, Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has said Nigeria’s diverse security challenges require innovative and context-specific solutions anchored on a multidimensional national security strategy.
The monarch made this known while receiving participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 19 from the National Institute of Security Studies at his palace in Oyo.
In a statement issued by his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, the Alaafin noted that the country’s security threats extend beyond insurgency, stressing that challenges such as ethnic militias must be understood within their socio-geographic contexts to enable tailored responses.
He explained that the domestic nature of such militias requires an integrated approach that goes beyond military action, including expanded access to government services, social development, job creation, and a strengthened justice system.
According to the monarch, accessible and trusted justice mechanisms can help reduce tensions between communities and the government. However, he warned that repeated disregard for judicial rulings by security agencies, particularly in cases involving violence against civilians, has worsened social tensions and undermined the rule of law.
Furthermore, he highlighted the difficulty of sustaining security presence in remote and conflict-prone areas, noting that although security forces have recorded successes in dislodging armed groups across regions, the absence of consistent follow-up often creates room for their return.
He cautioned that communities caught in such situations remain vulnerable, adding that lasting progress can only be achieved if security forces maintain a steady and accountable presence in affected areas, while also encouraging citizen cooperation.
Earlier, the leader of the visiting delegation, Halima Ibrahim, said the visit was part of an intelligence management course designed to draw from the Alaafin’s insights on ethnic militias, their implications, and possible solutions for national development.
