Benue Advocates Community Involvement In Fight Against Insecurity

Benue State Bureau of Homeland Security has advocated the involvement of citizens and communities in the fight against insecurity.

To achieve maximum results in combating banditry, chairmen of the 23 local government areas (LGAs) in the state said they are forging a common front against insecurity by getting people at the grassroots involved in the fight.

The approach in providing solutions to the security challenge is in partnership with Lawyers Alert, under the platform of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).

A statement by the president of Lawyer Alert, Rommy Mom, said the state and partners are developing a People-Centred Public Safety (PCPS) model which places communities at the centre of identifying and responding to safety concerns.

Through CPCs, communities are expected to work with government authorities, security institutions and other stakeholders to strengthen early warning and early response, dialogue, mediation, information sharing and locally driven solutions.

‎The model provides Local Government Councils with an opportunity to strengthen collaboration with citizens, government and security institutions while ensuring that local communities have a meaningful role in shaping responses to the issues affecting their safety.

‎Following the adoption of the approach as a statewide security strategy, the chairmen of the 23 LGAs are convening in Makurdi on Wednesday to draw on lessons from the implementation of the model in Guma, Katsina-Ala and Agatu LGAs.

‎It would be recalled that banditry and farmers/ herders clashes have continued to plague the state in recent years while the federal and state governments devise strategies to tackle the challenges.