As an erstwhile insider in the security situation in Kaduna State, a former Commissioner of Police in the state, Agyole Abeh, speaks on the Abuja-Kaduna train attack. Excerpts:
It seems the solution is to employ locals to secure black spots. Do you think this will reduce attacks in this axis?
Yes, I think we have a lot to do especially in terms of security and communities’ partnership. First of all, we must build trust with communities.
The bandits live in these communities.
Most of the people in the communities benefit from banditry, this makes it difficult to persuade them to provide us with relevant information.
But, we can go ahead of that and also put in these communities informants, not necessarily indigenes of those communities.
When I was Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, we had expanded meetings with community leaders and traditional rulers which helped very much in ensuring security in the state but, at the end, it seems to be back, all over again.
We must, therefore, emphasize our reaction as security operatives, more than rely on communities for getting information as some of such information is inaccurate, which exposes officers to danger.
We should lay more emphasis on the provision of appropriate equipment for the management of crime.
We should also look at the time these trains move.
Vanguard News Nigeria
