Military force alone can’t end insecurity in North — Sardauna Foundation

The Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF) has said military operations alone cannot end the worsening insecurity in Northern Nigeria, insisting that lasting peace can only be achieved through coordinated community intelligence, data-driven security systems and stronger collaboration between governments and traditional institutions. The foundation’s Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Dr. Abubakar Gambo Umar, […]

The Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF) has said military operations alone cannot end the worsening insecurity in Northern Nigeria, insisting that lasting peace can only be achieved through coordinated community intelligence, data-driven security systems and stronger collaboration between governments and traditional institutions.

The foundation’s Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Dr. Abubakar Gambo Umar, stated this during SABMF’s May 2026 Monthly Online Mentorship Programme, where stakeholders examined practical solutions to the region’s growing security challenges.

The programme brought together experts and policy advocates who stressed the need for a shift from purely kinetic operations to preventive and intelligence-led security strategies.

Umar said the continued reliance on military force without effective grassroots intelligence had limited the success of security operations across the North.

He said governments and security agencies must work closely with traditional rulers and local communities to build a sustainable security framework capable of identifying threats before they escalate.

“Sustainable peace is not achieved on the battlefield alone. It requires a deeply synchronised approach where governments, formal security agencies, traditional institutions and local communities operate as a united front,” he said.

He added that citizen participation, organised intelligence gathering and proper data utilisation remained critical to tackling banditry, kidnapping and communal violence in the region.

Delivering the keynote address, governance and technology expert, Engr. Dr. Umar Buba Bindir, identified what he described as a major weakness in Nigeria’s security architecture — the disconnect between formal security agencies and local intelligence structures.

He said despite huge spending on military hardware and operations, insecurity had persisted because authorities lacked organised real-time intelligence from communities.

Bindir noted that many attacks could have been prevented if local intelligence systems were effectively integrated into formal security operations.

To address the challenge, he unveiled the Political Traditional Partnership (PTP) Model, which he said was successfully implemented in Adamawa State between 2015 and 2019.

He explained that the model creates structured collaboration between political authorities and traditional institutions at the state, local government and ward levels to strengthen intelligence gathering and rapid response mechanisms.

The expert also introduced the Political Traditional Partnership Management Information System (PTPMiSi), a digital platform designed to support predictive policing through the collection and analysis of grassroots data.

The foundation called on Northern governors, state assemblies, security agencies and local government authorities to adopt the PTP model across the 19 Northern states.

It also urged authorities to enact laws protecting informants, strengthen intelligence-sharing mechanisms, provide sustainable funding for grassroots security initiatives and train traditional rulers, youth leaders and vigilante groups in digital security management.