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• Ahead state police, governors roll out security measures against terrorists, kidnappers, deploy more logistics
Following rising cases of insecurity across the country, particularly, mass abduction, killings, and attacks on communities, some state governors have introduced drastic measures to contain insurgency and banditry.
What is common among the states is the establishment of security outfits sponsored by the state governments with manpower drawn from local communities.
In some states where such outfits existed before now, the governors have taken steps to strengthen them by providing more logistics support. These measures come ahead of the efforts being made to establish State Police to complement existing security agencies in the fight against terror.
Oyo
The Oyo State government has launched a series of security measures aimed at curbing criminal activities and restoring public confidence.
Seye Ojo reports that in recent weeks, Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration has rolled out a combination of executive orders, curfew, property demolitions and enhanced security operations in what appears to be one of the state’s most aggressive responses to rising insecurity.
One of the government’s first moves was the issuance of Executive Order No. 001 of 2026, which provides a regulatory framework for private security outfits, vigilante groups and local associations operating in the state.
The administration followed this with Executive Order No. 002 of 2026, restricting the operation of commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada, between 10:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. in the state.
The government said intelligence reports indicated that motorcycles were increasingly being used by kidnappers, robbers and other criminal elements to evade security checks and execute attacks.
Security agencies have consequently been empowered to impound offending motorcycles and prosecute violators.
In response to the recent abduction of 39 pupils and seven teachers in three schools in Oriire Local Government Area, the state government on Tuesday June 23, also imposed a 16-hour curfew across communities bordering the Old Oyo National Park. It covered 10 local government areas of Oriire, Orelope, Irepo, Saki West, Saki East, Atisbo, Itesiwaju, Iseyin, Olorunsogo and Atiba.
In Ibadan, the government demolished a building at Lakoun/Aiyegun-Olojuoro Road, Olunde axis, Ibadan, used as a hideout by kidnappers involved in the abduction of Mrs. Busayo John-Paul, and her twin sons.
Makinde stated that his administration is strengthening Amotekun Corps and enhancing cooperation among security agencies to improve security across the state.
Abia
From Umuahia, the Abia State capital, Okey Sampson, reports that Governor Alex Otti established Operation Crush, a security outfit comprising the military and sister security agencies.
The security outfit immediately went down to business and dismantled criminal gangs within the Isuikwuato/Lokpanta corridor and restored relative peace to the state.
Early this week, the state announced a ban on commercial motorcycle operations in three cities in the state –Umuahia, Aba and Ohafia.
Commissioner for Information in the state, Okey Kanu said the policy was part of the government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen security in the state.
Special Adviser to the Governor on security, Navy Commander MacDonald Uba (rtd.) urged residents to view the policy from the perspective of collective security rather than temporary hardship.
“The primary responsibility of any government is the safety and security of its people. Governor Alex Otti is taking proactive steps to prevent the security challenges experienced in several other states from taking root in Abia.
“We appeal to our people to bear with the temporary inconvenience because the overriding public interest is far more important,” Uba noted.
The state government did not stop at announcing the ban, it also announced an implementation plan which takes effect from Monday.
Enugu
From Enugu State, Jude Chinedu, reports that with the increasing wave of violent crimes across the country, the Enugu State government has adopted a combination of technology, armed security operations and scientific crime investigation to curb criminal activities, with early results already showing significant progress.
Governor Peter Mbah recently disclosed that violent crime in the state has dropped following sustained interventions aimed at strengthening security architecture across the state.
One of the major steps taken by the administration is the revitalisation of the Enugu State Forest Guard, a security outfit deployed to tackle criminal elements operating within forests and rural communities often used as hideouts by kidnappers and armed gangs.
In December 2025, the state government equipped the outfit with modern weapons and operational tools. Commander of the Forest Guard, DCP Olasoji Akinbayo (rtd.), revealed that over 1,000 sophisticated rifles have been procured to strengthen operations.
To improve surveillance and intelligence gathering, the government has also deployed drones to monitor remote areas, while security cameras have been installed across Enugu metropolis and on police patrol vehicles for real-time monitoring.
Mbah recently commissioned the Centre for DNA Forensics and Criminal Investigation at Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, to strengthen criminal investigations through scientific evidence.
The government has also restructured neighbourhood watch groups across communities, with residents reporting improved safety and a noticeable decline in kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes across the state.
Taraba
As insecurity worsens around the country, Taraba State governor, Agbu Kefas is taking strategic and proactive measures to ensure relative safety of lives and property in the State, Sylvanus Viashima reports from Jalingo.
One of such measures is the composition of the Special Anti Kidnapping task force comprising men of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police, Civil Defence and local vigilante.
The measure has helped to stem the tide of kidnapping in the state. Reports indicate that the level of kidnapping, armed robbery, burglary and random attacks have been drastically reduced.
Another measure taken by the state government is the establishment and equipping of a state-controlled security outfit known as Taraba Marshalls.
The outfit, equipped with patrol vans and motorcycles, are responsible for routine patrols to complement the work of other security agencies.
The governor has also placed an embargo on mining across the state and set up a taskforce to strictly enforce the ban. This has helped to tackle security related to mining across communities.
Katsina
In Katsina State, Governor Umaru Dikko Radda assumed office with a “no negotiations with bandits” policy, advising the terrorists to quit their inglorious trade or face the full wrath of the law.
Agaju Madugba reports from that as part of measures to check banditry and other forms of criminality, the government, within its first 100 days in office, in August 2023, announced the approval of N7.8 billion for the procurement of modern security equipment, for security agencies operating in the state.
This is beside the initial sum of N640 million for the procurement of security equipment for the Community Watch Corps (CWC), a security outfit which the The government on October 10, 2023 formally launched the CWC with an initial strength of 1,456 officers who were trained by the military in intelligence gathering and weapons handling, among other security drills. They were also equipped with 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers, 70 Toyota Hilux vans and 700 motorcycles. “This occasion serves as an emblem of our commitment to security, peace, and community-centred advancement,” Radda said during the launch.
The government has since graduated two additional batches of officers for the CWC, currently bringing the number to about 2, 000 personnel.
As further measures to curtail rising cases of violent crimes, authorities at the local government level in the state also introduced “dialogue” with a cross section of leaders of terrorist groups in their areas, an initiative that generated national condemnation. But the governor described it as the Katsina Model, explaining that it is a community-driven approach that allows members of affected communities to initiate and negotiate peace with repentant bandits who agree to lay down their arms.
The governor recently made an attempt to woo terrorists with offers of housing, grants, and opportunities for peace to return to the state.
While commissioning housing units for some Internally Displaced Persons in Jibiya, Jibiya Local Government Area, Radda said: “The doors for dialogue, repentance and reintegration remain open to you. To those of our brothers and sisters in the bush or in the forest, to those who still raise weapons against our own people, to those who have taken to banditry, kidnapping and violence, hear me very well today.”
Edo
From Benin, Edo State capital comes a report by Tony Osauzo, that the government has adopted multiple approaches in tackling insecurity.
The first was the setting up of Edo State Security Corps Network (ESSN) which collaborates with community-based vigilantes and security agencies in fighting insecurity in various communities in the state.
The second approach was the setting up of Edo State Special Security Squad codenamed Operation Flush Out Kidnappers and Cultists, following escalating activities of the two groups in the state.
Since the setting up of the Special Security Squad, the state has invigorated efforts in checking kidnappers and cultists, resulting in arrests and demolitions of several houses used by them for their criminal enterprise.
State officials believe that the rescue of a woman who was recently abducted at the vegetable market in Benin City, and the arrest of some members of the kidnap ring is proof of the effectiveness of the security architecture in the state.
Kebbi
In Kebbi State, over 500 operatives of the Forest Guards were recently recruited to support the security architecture in the state.
Olanrewaju Lawal reports that in 2023, Governor Nasiru Idris donated 27 vehicles consisting of Toyota Land cruisers and Hilux jeeps to the Army, Police, DSS, Civil Defence and the vigilante group to tackle the challenge of insecurity in the state. Since then, the state government have been distributing vehicles and motorcycles to them.
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The governor said the vehicles given to the security operatives would give them a sense of belonging and the commitment to protect lives and property of people in the state.
Recently, Special Adviser to Kebbi Governor on Security and Home Affairs, Col. Hassan Danladi Ribah (rtd.) while speaking at a stakeholders meeting on security in Birnin Kebbi, disclosed that the government had facilitated the deployment of Mopol to Dankowasagu, an area where bandits used to attack people frequently.
During the visit of Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) Supervising North West, DIG Suleiman Muhammad Abdul, Governor Nasir Idris, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to continue supporting the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to sustain peace and security across the state.
Rivers
The Rivers State government has implemented a mix of security, partnership, and social measures to keep criminals in check, Tony John reports.
The state had since deepened collaboration with federal security agencies, by reaffirming joint efforts against all forms of violent crime.
Recently, the state government donated a helicopter to the Nigerian Air Force and upgraded the runway at the NAF Base in Port Harcourt.
To strengthen the security architecture, Governor Siminalayi Fubara recently placed several border communities on what he called 110 percent security alert.
He tasked traditional rulers to work with local government areas’ chairmen and security agencies. The state also engages youth and religious groups in peace-building.
Addressing root causes, the government said the 2026 budget places priority on education, healthcare, and youth employment to reduce insecurity drivers.
The government also launched the Safe Schools, Safe Future Project, to ensure violence-free learning environments.
Also, the Rivers State Police Command has embarked on what could be described as “targeted policing operations” to rid the state of criminal elements on major roads.
Borno
Renewed terrorist attacks in Borno State since February this year have worsened the state’s protracted security challenges, leading to more civilian deaths and displacement, Timothy Olanrewaju reports from Maiduguri.
Recently, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked some military locations, towns and communities in the state, forcing civilians to flee their homes.
The state government responded with the purchase of two Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and critical logistics handed over to the military by the governor, Babagana Zulum.
The state government also donated operational Hilux vehicles and motorcycles for troops in the frontline in difficult terrains.
A record obtained by Saturday Sun shows that the government procured and distributed no fewer than 43 Armoured Personnel Carriers and 143 operational vehicles to various security agencies in the last one year.
Spokesman to the governor, Dauda Iliya told Saturday Sun that the government also provided 2,700 motorcycles and assorted security gadgets to help improve military operations in the state and tackle renewed attacks by terrorists.
Benue
From Benue, Scholastica Hir, reports that Governor Hyacinth Alia has stepped up efforts to address the growing challenge of insecurity, including attacks by armed herders, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes affecting communities across the state.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Security and Internal Affairs, Chief Joseph Har, PSP, said that one of the measures taken by the Alia-led administration is the establishment of the Benue State Civil Protection Guards (CPG), a 5,000-man security outfit designed to complement the work of conventional security agencies.
He said the government also launched the Joint Security Task Force known as Operation Anyam Nyor and provided security agencies with 100 Hilux patrol vehicles and 600 motorcycles to improve mobility and rapid response to security threats.
Governor Alia’s administration, he said, has continued to work closely with the military, police, Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), and other security agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering, conduct joint patrols, and secure vulnerable communities. Security operations have led to the rescue of kidnapped victims, recovery of weapons, and increased pressure on criminal groups operating in parts of the state.
The state government has also provided logistics support to security agencies and maintained regular engagement with federal security authorities to enhance the protection of lives and property.
The Special Adviser said while security challenges remain, the Benue State government is committed to restoring peace, enabling displaced persons to return home, and creating a safer environment for residents, farmers, and businesses throughout the state.
Imo
In a bid to tackle violent crimes especially kidnapping and armed robbery in the state, Governor Hope Uzodimma established a 7,000-man Imo State Vigilances Service Organisation to replace the former Imo State Security Network and Imo Community Watch (Vigilance Groups).
George Onyejiuwa reports that members of vigilance services who were trained at the Police Training College at Nekede, near Owerri were subsequently deployed to their various communities across the 27 Local Government Areas of the state to tackle criminal elements.
The state also provided them with the necessary logistics support to carry out their duties.
In the last few months, operatives of the Imo State Police Command working in synergy with members of the vigilance services have sustained intensive forest combing operation in the state, especially in parts of Owerri West council to flush out hoodlums who are using the vast forested areas as their hideouts, and to nip in the bud, rising cases of kidnapping and armed robbery in that axis.
Thus ,on the 25 May 2026 the police Operatives in a joint operation with members of the state Vigilance services led by the Area commander of Owerri Urban , ACP Mike Abattam embarked on intensive combing of the vast forested areas within Eziobodo, Ihiagwa, Nekede, and Okolochi communities.
During the operation, a total of twenty-four suspects were arrested from different locations within the forests.
Again, on 6th and 8th June, 2026, operatives of the police in Imo in a joint operation with Imo State Security Organisation conducted intensive clearance operations across identified forested areas spanning Irete, Ndegwu, Amakohia-Ubi, Orogwe, Ohi, Umuguma, and adjoining forest belts in Mbaitoli axis which has become a criminal hideout.
Anambra
From Awka, Anambra state capital, Obinna Odogwu reports that although no new measures have been introduced in the state to tackle rising crimes, existing security outfits have been on the trail of criminals in the state.
Operation Udo Ga-Achi (Operation peace shall reign), a joint security operation designed to flush out criminals from the state is a 2,000-man security outfit with members drawn from the Nigeria Army, the Police, Navy, Directorate of State Services (DSS), Civil Defence, Special Forces, and the Agunaechemba.
Agunaechemba is the state’s structured security outfit created with the Homeland Security Law 2025 to complement and support the existing law enforcement agencies in preventing crime. The homeland security law gives a legal framework for the Udo Ga-Achi operations.
To a large extent, local vigilantes and youths in various communities in the state are responsible for the safety of their people at that level.
Ondo
Ondo State government has intensified efforts at curbing the menace of insecurity in the state by empowering the state security network known as Operation Amotekun, Bamigbola Gbolagunte reports.
This is even as the Amotekun Corps has widened its operations by engaging in night duty and forest patrol in addition to its 24 hours surveillance on all major roads in the state.
The corps commander of Operation Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye said the state government under the leadership of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa is not leaving any chance to criminals in the state, hence the introduction of the new initiatives which he said would go a long way at curbing the menace of insecurity in all the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
Also, Adeleye said the command is working with all the conventional security agencies in the state including the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).
Besides, Adeleye stated that all the border communities across the state are on 24 hours surveillance, even as the command continues to beam its searchlight on all the roads that lead to the state.
The state government has also procured modern equipment for the Amotekun corps to fight insecurity in all parts of the state.
State officials say the fight against insecurity by the Amotekun corps and other conventional security agencies in the state are already yielding good results with the regular arrest of criminals in the state.
Ebonyi
The government of Ebonyi State has braced up against rising insecurity with the donation of 31 brand new operational vans and security gadgets to security agencies in the state.
Uchenna Inya, reports that the operational vehicles and the security gadgets were donated to the security agencies by Governor Francis Nwifuru on June 12 this year.
The vehicles were donated to the police, DSS, NDLEA, FRSC, Custom, Immigration, Prisons and the Civil Defence Corps.
Handing over the vehicles at the Governor’s Office Ochoudo Centenary City in Abakaliki, the governor observed that one of the ways insecurity and social disorder can be contained was to arm security agencies to respond to emergencies and distresses.
“The selfless services rendered by the service chiefs are very tremendous and commendable, especially the technical knowledge and digital skills they have adopted to provide security,” he said.
Nwifuru further explained that the reason for the donation of the operational vehicles was due rising cases of violence by non-state actors in the state’s suburbs.
According to him, “we have been challenged in our local areas. We looked at the challenges and saw the necessity of providing these vehicles because security is everybody’s business.
“I have much confidence that these vehicles will be handled the same way the other materials are being handled.”
