{"id":122465,"date":"2025-09-24T20:04:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=122465"},"modified":"2025-09-24T20:04:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:04:49","slug":"insecurity-ex-minister-accuses-government-of-celebrating-bandits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/insecurity-ex-minister-accuses-government-of-celebrating-bandits\/","title":{"rendered":"Insecurity: Ex-Minister Accuses Government of Celebrating Bandits\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
By Myke Agunwa, Abuja<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
As the debate for the creation of state police continues to take the front burner in the ongoing constitution amendment process, former Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, has accused government of cebrating bandits, leaving innocent Nigerians helpless.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Dalung who is a member of the coalition aimed at unseating the President Bola Tinubu-led government in 2027, said that with the compromise of existing security architecture, what is urgently needed is not only the creation of state, local government, and community police, but also a constitutional amendment that allows citizens to bear arms legally for self-defense.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Recall that former Minister of Defence and elder statesman, Gen Theophilus Danjuma (retd) as well as former governor of Zamfara state and now Minister of State Defence, Bello Matawalle advocated that citizens should be allowed to take up arms and defend themselves, in the wake of ceaseless kidnappings and gruesome killings in the country.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In a statement posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday titled \u201cBeyond State Police: The Urgent Case for Citizens\u2019 Right to Bear Arms,\u201d Dalung said Nigeria\u2019s centralized security system had collapsed, exposing citizens to bandits, terrorists, and violent criminals armed with sophisticated weapons.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He argued that while criminals openly flaunt weapons at government-sponsored peace meetings in the presence of security agencies, ordinary citizens face arrest and prosecution for keeping even basic tools for self-defense.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe debate over the establishment of state police has returned to the constitutional front burner, with arguments being advanced both for and against it.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWhile some focus only on the merits and demerits of decentralizing policing, the Nigerian security reality has deteriorated beyond such narrow considerations.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWith the collapse and compromise of our existing security architecture, what is urgently needed is not only the creation of state, local government, and community police, but also a constitutional amendment that allows citizens to bear arms legally for self-defense.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cToday, bandits, terrorists, and violent criminals brazenly wield sophisticated weapons\u2014automatic rifles, hand grenades, rocket launchers, and even drone technology\u2014inflicting untold trauma on innocent and defenseless Nigerians.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cIronically, these same criminals are accorded celebrity treatment at government-sponsored \u201cpeace meetings,\u201d where they appear with their weapons in full view of security agencies, including the military.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, ordinary citizens cannot keep even a kitchen knife for protection without risking arrest and prosecution. This double standard has left the masses exposed, helpless, and trapped in a system that protects the rich and violent actors while criminalizing the defenseless poor,\u201d the former Minister said.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He called for a comprehensive constitutional amendment to allow for the creation of state, local government, and community police, as well as the recognition of citizens\u2019 right to legally bear arms for self-defense.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He further accused opponents of state policing and citizens\u2019 right to bear arms of dishonesty, alleging that many benefit from the failed system or shield terrorist financiers who continue to operate unpunished.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
According to him, Nigeria must adopt a layered policing structure, similar to that of the United States, to enhance security and restore public trust.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n