Former Presidential aide, Reno Omokri has called for urgent security reforms following the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, and the killing of the school’s vice principal.
In a post on his X handle on Tuesday, Omokri condemned the attack and offered sympathy to everyone affected.
“My condolences to the family of the departed and my heartfelt prayers to the parents of the missing girls,” he wrote, describing the incident as “one of the saddest things about Nigeria.”
Omokri stressed that while citizens often direct outrage toward the government, the true blame lies with the terrorists who carried out the attack.
He urged authorities to “do everything possible to rescue the pupils and apprehend, then prosecute, the perpetrators of the murder and kidnapping.”
Beyond the immediate tragedy, he argued that Nigeria must confront its broader security realities.
Although he acknowledged that mass abductions have declined since the last administration — noting that 881 schoolchildren were kidnapped between May 29, 2015 and May 29, 2023 — Omokri maintained that the country’s security forces remain severely overstretched.
“With less than half a million soldiers and police officers for a population of 235 million and a landmass of almost a million square kilometres, we need to deepen security,” he said.
According to Omokri, the solution lies in decentralising law enforcement.
“The time for State and Community Police has come. We must make policing as local as possible,” he argued, adding that a single centrally controlled police structure “may no longer be sufficient to address Nigeria’s security issues.”
He suggested that if Kebbi State had its own police force, “there is a strong possibility that this incident would not have occurred.”
While commending President Bola Tinubu for what he described as “much progress” so far, Omokri urged the administration to take the next bold step.
He appealed directly to the President to champion the establishment of state police, saying Tinubu “has the political skill and will to instil this.”
“Mr President, you have already increased federal allocation to states by at least 100%. They are now in a position to afford it. Let them pull their weight,” he wrote. “Sir, please give Nigeria State and Community Police.”
