By Steve Oko & Ugochukwu Alaribe,
Stakeholders across the South-East have called for urgent, coordinated and community-driven strategies to confront rising insecurity in the region, as concerns mount over increasing cases of kidnapping and attacks on communities.
A retired military officer, Major General Nwokoro Ijioma, has faulted what he described as the lack of decisive and coordinated action by South-East governors in addressing insecurity, urging them to urgently evolve a robust and unified regional security framework.
Ijioma said the security situation in the region had escalated beyond a distant concern, stressing that governors, while operating under the constitutional security structure headed by the President as Commander-in-Chief, also bear direct responsibility for protecting lives and property within their states.
He argued that the substantial security votes allocated to state governments should be more effectively deployed, adding that citizens are increasingly demanding accountability on their impact.
The retired general further called on the five South-East governors to work collectively rather than individually, and to engage retired military officers and security experts from the region in designing a sustainable security architecture.
“Ndi Igbo must organise for their own protection. The first law of nature is self-preservation,” he said, urging coordinated and lawful action to strengthen local security response mechanisms.
Similarly, the Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU) called for the empowerment of community vigilance groups, including improved welfare support and better equipment to enable them to respond more effectively to criminal activities.
National President of ASITU, Chief Emeka Diwe, said such groups should be adequately supported to match the capabilities of armed criminals, insisting that communities must take stronger roles in protecting their environments.
He also advocated proactive operations in forested areas, describing them as hiding places often exploited by kidnappers, while urging communities to ensure sustained security patrols to prevent criminal infiltration.
“Every community knows its forest and the best way to secure it is to ensure it is not used as a safe haven for criminals,” he said.
Also contributing, the President General of Nzuko-Ukwu, Ngwa Ukwu cultural organisation in Abia State, Chief Victor Azumara, called on traditional rulers to take a leading role in setting up vigilance structures in villages and autonomous communities.
Azumara urged stronger collaboration between state governments, traditional institutions and community security committees, including weekly security meetings at local government level to address emerging threats.
He also called for profiling and documentation of non-indigenes engaged in menial jobs within communities, while urging better coordination of local security intelligence and the strengthening of vigilance networks.
According to him, retired police and military officers from the region should be involved in training community youth security groups, while urging South-East governors to harmonise security operations and improve information sharing.
Across the various interventions, stakeholders emphasized the need for stronger coordination, community participation, and proactive measures to curb the rising wave of insecurity in the South-East, warning that failure to act decisively could further worsen the situation.
