By Atlantic Reports

The presidential candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Dr Esther Okereke, has called for community policing and state police as part of a broader response to Nigeria’s security challenges.

Speaking during an interview in Abuja on Sunday, Okereke urged the Federal Government to rethink the country’s security framework and invest in locally organised protection of lives and property.

She argued that personnel familiar with their communities could contribute to intelligence gathering and faster responses because of their knowledge of local terrain.

“I have said it before: Community policing is key. Equip the community vigilance groups, the forest guards, the hunters, fund and train them,” she said.

Local Knowledge and Intelligence

Okereke said community involvement could help security agencies identify people collaborating with criminals and strengthen efforts to prevent attacks.

Drawing on a saying from her mother, she illustrated her concern about insiders aiding threats from outside a community.

“My mother used to say that it is the rat inside the house that tells the one outside that there is fish in the basket,” she said.

Her proposal places local knowledge at the centre of security operations. However, the interview account did not detail how vigilance groups, hunters and forest guards would be vetted, supervised or integrated with professional security agencies.

Safeguards Against Abuse

Okereke also supported the establishment of state police, arguing that concerns about abuse by governors could be addressed through clear jurisdictional limits, reporting obligations and a strict chain of command.

She said decentralising policing should not give state authorities or security personnel unrestricted powers.

“When we say fund it, empower them does not mean you should give them the whole power to make decisions, to carry out judgment and sentences, no. It’s not done like that,” she said.

Okereke maintained that any decentralised arrangement should clearly define what personnel could and could not do.

Her comments outlined support for stronger local security structures, but did not specify funding arrangements, independent oversight mechanisms or procedures for handling complaints against officers.

Those details would be central to assessing how the proposed system could improve community safety while protecting residents from abuse.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.