A former Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, has urged state governors across Nigeria to take fuller responsibility for tackling insecurity in their respective states, insisting that many of the solutions needed to address the crisis already exist at the subnational level.

Owoseni made the call while speaking on the growing wave of insecurity across parts of the country, including incidents of kidnapping, banditry, and communal violence that have continued to raise public concern.

He criticised what he described as the frequent reliance of governors on the Federal Government in Abuja for security interventions, arguing that such dependence weakens effective local response and delays urgent action.

According to him, governors, as constitutional chief security officers of their states, already have access to security structures and intelligence needed to respond more effectively.

The retired police chief maintained that insecurity in Nigeria is not solely a federal problem, stressing that state leaders must become more proactive in coordinating security operations within their jurisdictions.

He added that stronger collaboration between governors, security agencies, and community leaders would significantly improve intelligence gathering and rapid response to threats.

Owoseni also emphasised the importance of grassroots engagement, noting that local communities often possess critical information that can help security agencies prevent or respond to criminal activities.

He called for improved trust between citizens and security operatives to enhance information sharing. He further argued that each state faces unique security challenges and therefore requires tailored solutions rather than a one-size-fits-all approach driven from the centre.

Governors, he said, must invest more in local security strategies and stop shifting responsibility to Abuja.

While acknowledging ongoing discussions around restructuring Nigeria’s security architecture, including calls for state policing, Owoseni cautioned that reforms alone would not solve the problem unless leaders at the state level take more decisive action with existing structures.