Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Muhammad Usaini Gumel has stressed that community policing is crucial to tackling insecurity in Nigeria’s conflict-affected zones.
Delivering a lecture at the Armed Forces Staff College in Jaji, Kaduna State, Gumel outlined the unique challenges these areas face: displaced families, weakened local governance, and eroded trust between communities and security agencies.
The lecture, titled “Community Policing as a Tool for Safeguarding Families Towards Enhancing National Security in Conflict-Affected Zones”, was attended by 382 senior officers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, alongside international participants and members of the media.
🔹 What community policing offers
According to Gumel, community policing is not about replacing the military or traditional police work but about complementing them with a people-centered, trust-driven strategy. Key benefits he highlighted include:
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Protecting families and livelihoods against threats like terrorism, insurgency, and organized crime.
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Strengthening intelligence gathering through community trust, early warning systems, and national resilience.
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Restoring confidence in security institutions by promoting accountability, transparency, and collaboration.
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Encouraging peace-building, where communities take ownership of their own safety.
🔹 A vision for resilience and stability
Gumel emphasized that putting families at the heart of security strategies can help transform conflict-affected areas into communities of resilience, stability, and hope.
The lecture formed part of Exercise Haske-Biyu 2025, a program designed to simulate real-world security challenges and strengthen participants’ capacity in internal security and low-intensity conflict management. The exercise also aims to boost collaboration among Nigeria’s different security agencies to improve the country’s overall security framework.
