DEMOCRACY AT 27 | INSECURITY, STATE POLICE AND THE FUTURE OF NIGERIA

AS NIGERIA MARKS 27 YEARS OF UNINTERRUPTED DEMOCRATIC RULE, QUESTIONS PERSIST ABOUT WHETHER DEMOCRACY HAS DELIVERED THE FUNDAMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNMENT: THE PROTECTION OF LIVES AND PROPERTY. RECENT DATA RELEASED BY A COALITION OF 52 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS PAINTS A TROUBLING PICTURE: NEARLY 19,980 PEOPLE REPORTEDLY KILLED, 12,362 ABDUCTED, 1,486 SECURITY PERSONNEL LOST IN ACTIVE OPERATIONS, AND 865 STUDENTS KIDNAPPED SINCE MAY 2023. AT THE SAME TIME, LAWMAKERS ARE ADVANCING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS TO ESTABLISH STATE POLICE, A PROPOSAL MANY BELIEVE COULD RESHAPE NIGERIA'S SECURITY ARCHITECTURE. TONIGHT, WE ASK: WHAT DRIVES INSECURITY IN NIGERIA? CAN STATE POLICE OFFER A SOLUTION? AND WHAT REFORMS ARE REQUIRED TO SECURE THE FUTURE OF AFRICA'S LARGEST DEMOCRACY? JOINING US ARE REV. KALLAMU MUSA ALI DIKWA AND SECURITY EXPERT JOSEPH FOLORUNSHO.