A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Wahab Shittu, has called for stronger community-based security structures to address the worsening insecurity in parts of Kwara South.

Shittu made the call on Wednesday while speaking on Channels Television's Sunrise Daily.

The Senior Advocate stressed the need for local capacity building:

"We need to strengthen community-based protection if we want to address this problem, particularly in Kwara South," he said.

He added that community leaders, vigilante groups, and other local security structures must be empowered.

"The community itself must strengthen its capacity to solve these problems. They cannot rely solely on the efforts of the state government alone."

Shittu identified two primary reasons why insecurity in the area persists:

1. Porous Borders: He noted that border communities remain exposed, stating: "Our borders around Kwara South and other communities in that area are porous, which allows the influx of weapons and armed bandits into these areas without checks."
2. Overstretched Agencies: Shittu also observed that the security agencies appear overstretched, pointing to manpower and resource gaps: "The security agencies appear to be overwhelmed by inadequate support and staffing of the security agents."

He concluded that the situation demands a more active security role from local communities, reiterating that relying solely on the state government will not solve the problem.

He recalled the response of the Kwara State Government following recent attacks in Kwara South.

"Remember in the case of the Kwara South situation, when it happened, the state governor had to convene state security meetings where the stakeholders, traditional rulers, local government chairmen, and some other critical stakeholders in the security architecture assembled," he stated.

The senior lawyer stressed that lasting security requires full local participation.

"If you want to address what is going on here, at the level of the community, security has to be beefed up, and you have to involve everybody in the process," he said.

He added that traditional rulers, local government chairmen of these areas, including local vigilante groups, ought to be mobilized to take the issue of security seriously and not leave it solely in the hands of the state or federal government.