Senators from the South-West zone and a coalition of regional stakeholders have renewed calls for the creation of state police and the deployment of advanced technology to tackle rising banditry, kidnappings and violent crime across the region. The demand was made at the South-West Zonal Security Summit convened under the Senate ad-hoc committee’s National Security hearings in Lagos.
Lawmakers said the South-West must act preemptively to prevent spillover of the severe security problems afflicting other parts of the country. Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, who chairs the South-West hearings, warned that increased farmer-herder clashes, highway attacks and reported incursions (including the so-called Lakurawa episodes) threaten rural livelihoods and food production, calling for a regional security architecture capable of rapid intelligence-sharing and joint operations.
Speakers at the summit urged the formal modernization and integration of Amotekun — the regional security outfit — into a technology-enabled command structure, with dedicated funding, cross-state mobility, and better training. Lagos State’s representative stressed that traditional rulers and community networks must be central to any plan because local knowledge is critical for early warning and prevention. Civil society groups attending the summit asked for improved welfare for security personnel to stem attrition and strengthen local recruitment.
Analysts say the move signals a shift in the public debate away from purely federal responses to insecurity and toward a hybrid model combining federal assets with devolved, state-level capabilities. Proponents argue state policing, if properly designed with constitutional safeguards, would close responsiveness gaps and reduce dependence on overstretched federal forces — but opponents warn that detailed legal frameworks will be needed to avoid jurisdictional conflict.
