Security Requires Functional Local Governments, Argues Ubani

 Human rights lawyer Monday Ubani on July 28, 2025, asserted that effective security in Nigeria is unattainable without functional local governments, delivering a keynote address at the Nigerian Bar Association’s security summit. 

Ubani, a former Publicity Secretary, argued that the 774 local government areas (LGAs), crippled by state government control and inadequate funding, are essential for grassroots policing and intelligence gathering. He cited the 1999 Constitution’s Section 7, which guarantees LGA autonomy, yet noted that only 20% of the ₦1.2 trillion allocated in 2025 reached them, per a BudgIT report, with the rest withheld by states.

Ubani proposed a model where LGAs manage 30% of security budgets, training 50,000 community guards annually, drawing from the Amotekun initiative in the Southwest. The federal government defends its centralized approach, with the Ministry of Interior citing 15,000 police recruits in 2025. 

Critics, including the Centre for Democracy and Development, warn of coordination risks, but Ubani’s data on 120 bandit attacks in Plateau this year supports his case. The narrative of decentralized security is persuasive, though its feasibility depends on constitutional amendments and political will.