Community Based-Approach to Insecurity in Nigeria: Fears and Measures

Abstract

Since the outbreak of insecurity in Nigeria, the economy of the country has remained in shamble
and the lives of the people were jeopardized. This necessitated the government to form
Community Policing. The essence of this is to help the security agents to tackle crime related
activities especially in the local villages. It would also serve as a channel of information
dissemination to Nigeria security agents and also serve as a mediator in inter community clash
disputes. Systems theory was adopted as the theoretical framework for this study. The expository
qualitative method of inquiry was used for data collection, which entails the in-depth acquisition
of documentary material, and the data was analyzed using the content analytical technique. The
study found, among others, that lack of information dissemination at the local villages has
hampered the ability to apprehend criminals that are terrorizing the country. So, the formation of
community police became necessary in curbing criminal related activities. To curb these
challenges, the study recommends that the Federal Ministry of Interior/Affairs, in collaboration
with the Security personnel’s should recruit and train competent people that will be fully armed
at the local villages for proper security.