Stakeholders Charge Federal Govt, States On Grassroots Accountability, Community Policing

Stakeholders have known as for pressing reforms to strengthen native authorities accountability, rebuild public belief and undertake group policing as a sustainable response to insecurity.

This was acknowledged on the 2026 Nigeria Grassroots Governance Summit and Awards (NIGGSA) held in Lagos, with the theme ‘Community Policing, Building Trust at the Grassroots and Bridging the Gap Between Local Governments and Traditional Institutions’.

The convener of NIGGSA and govt director of Hope for the Masses Foundation, Oluwatomisin Adebukola, mentioned the summit was designed to confront democratic attrition, which she described because the sluggish erosion of accountability, transparency, and public participation on the grassroots.

Adebukola mentioned that regardless of constitutional mandates on main training, healthcare, safety, and rural growth, native authorities stays Nigeria’s least accountable tier, not merely as a result of a scarcity of capability but in addition to a scarcity of political will.

She mentioned the main focus is on group policing, monetary autonomy and bridging native governments with conventional establishments, noting that insecurity is the clearest proof of governance failure on the grassroots.

She cited the 15 May 2026 abduction in Oriire, Oyo State, the place instructor Michael Oyedokun was beheaded after 56 days in captivity, and the kidnapping of 42 schoolchildren in Askira-Uba, Borno State, the identical day, as examples of communities with out web, useful policing and primary governance.

In his paper titled ‘Building Trust Between Government and the People’, Senator Gbenga Daniel, former Governor of Ogun State and Senator representing Ogun East, mentioned belief is the muse of fine governance, accountability its forex, and repair its final take a look at.

Daniel, represented by former commissioner for Special Duty, Alogun Onadipe, mentioned democracy goes past elections, noting that whereas elections confer legitimacy, efficiency sustains it.

He mentioned that when residents’ expectations for safety, infrastructure, training, and healthcare are met, confidence grows, however when guarantees are deserted, belief diminishes, weakening tax compliance, funding, and civic participation.

The former governor urged transparency as an working precept, with comprehensible budgets, credible procurement and measurable outcomes, stressing that accountability should embody penalties for corruption.

He added that know-how ought to drive responsive governance, not merely digitise inefficiency, and that growth should be inclusive and assessed by the worth it creates for residents.

Also, retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Adeleye Oyebade, mentioned safety isn’t merely the absence of threats however the presence of belief, cooperation and collective duty.

Oyebade mentioned top-down approaches that deploy personnel after crimes have failed to forestall harm, calling for a shift to group policing constructed on partnership, belief and shared problem-solving, not as a alternative for skilled policing however as a complement.

To rebuild belief, Oyebade proposed a four-point plan: ward safety committees, regulated group watch teams, anti-cultism programmes for colleges and youths, and confidential reporting with common police-community opinions.