The Effectiveness of Community-Based Security Initiatives Across Different Nigerian States (Published)
This article examines the effectiveness of community-based security initiatives (CBSIs) across multiple Nigerian states, analyzing their contributions to crime reduction, the challenges they face, and the factors that differentiate successful programs from ineffective ones. Drawing on empirical studies from Plateau, Kwara, Kogi, Ekiti, Ondo, Lagos, Kano, and Enugu states, the article synthesizes evidence on the performance of community policing collaborations, vigilante groups, regional security outfits (Amotekun), and forest guard units. Findings indicate that CBSIs have demonstrated measurable success in urban crime reduction (up to 20% in select states) and intelligence gathering in rural areas. However, their effectiveness is severely constrained by inadequate legal frameworks, insufficient funding, lack of standardized training, and accountability deficits. The article proposes a multi-dimensional framework for assessing CBSI effectiveness and recommends a structured legal and policy foundation to formalize community security arrangements while mitigating risks of abuse. This research contributes to the growing literature on hybrid security governance in fragile states and offers practical insights for policymakers seeking to optimize community-based approaches to insecurity in Nigeria.
Keywords: Amotekun, Community Policing, Nigeria, Vigilante Groups, crime reduction, hybrid security governance, non-state security actors
Role of Vigilante Groups in War against Terrorism in North Eastern Nigeria (Published)
In efforts to provide safe and conducive environment for citizens as well as foreign nationals conducting businesses on her shores, the Nigerian state have over the years constituted several regular law enforcement and security agencies mandated to maintain law and order as well as prevent and fight insurgencies including the terrorism they characterize. The Yan Tatsine uprising during the second republic and Boko Haram extremism cum attacks of the fourth republic have however raised doubts in certain quarters on the intelligence gathering ability of these state security outfits. While some scholars and policy makers have in this light called for a total overhaul of some if not all of these governmental agencies, this paper opts to take a critical look into the role of local vigilante organizations in assisting the state in her war against terror and other violent crimes such as rape and kidnapping. Focusing on the activities of some vigilante cells in Borno State which aligned in 2013 as ‘Civilian JTF’ to rout-out Boko Haram from their communities, and adopting the group theory approach to political inquiry, this study which assesses and confirms the positive activities of the vigilantes, also calls on the government at various levels to work out a synergy of these vigilantes’ activities and those of the conventional state security forces/services for the enhancement of the entire Nigerian security system.
Keywords: Boko Haram, Civilian JTF, Role, Terrorism, Vigilante Groups