The lawmaker representing Yagba Federal Constituency of Kogi State in the National Assembly, Leke Abejide, has called for community-based efforts to address insecurity in Nigeria.

Abejide spoke on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he threw his weight behind calls for state police.

He referenced a model in his constituency where local hunters are a critical part of the policing model.

“If you look at the advice from the DG of the DSS, I cannot forget it, and I have a model based on his advice. He said the communities should be the first line of defence,” the lawmaker said.

“How can they be? One, if you are living in my constituency, for example, where I have 71 communities, each community will have not less than seven, or ten maximum, well-trained and fortified hunters who will be vigilant and always be on the ground 24/7.

“I started this model in my federal constituency last year. We started in December 2025 when we noticed that bandits were coming into the communities, especially communities that border Niger State.

“They were coming in from there. When I noticed this, I organised all the traditional rulers—about 103 of them—and I briefed them. I said this is my intention: we have to form a squad, a minimum of a 55-man squad. I appealed to the state governor, and we also asked for a licence from the NSCDC for them.

“So it was approved, and they have the arms and ammunition. What they do once they wake up, like this morning—they do not sleep—they have a way of operating. They are not waiting for these bandits to come out. Once they sleep and wake up, they go inside the forest to hunt for them, not them hunting for us. We look for them every day, and they are paid, so they are motivated and really working. That is how I was able to counter this issue. Though they are not enough now, I’ve recruited an additional 45, making 100.

“This is the way to go for every community in this country. If we say only the government should face this challenge, we are just joking; it will not go anywhere for now. We need to come out—those of us who are elected representatives of the people—and put our own effort to join that of the government, and the result will come out, just like I’m having results in my area now.”

His comment came in the wake of renewed cases of banditry and mass abductions in parts of the country. Scores of students and teachers have been abducted in Oyo and Borno states. Several others are still in captivity in some places in Nigeria, raising concerns over the security of lives and property. (Channels News)

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