Govt Calls for Increased Citizens’ Involvement in National Security

Nigeria is strengthening efforts to tackle insecurity through closer collaboration among security agencies, governments, communities and citizens, with renewed emphasis on intelligence gathering, public education and coordinated surveillance.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this when he received the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa, and his team on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.

The Minister said Nigeria could not rely solely on military force to achieve lasting peace, stressing that effective intelligence gathering and surveillance required the active participation of citizens since security agencies could not be physically present in every community.

“Security situation in this country or anywhere in the world is such that there must be collaboration between the security agencies, the armed forces and the general public,” the Minister said.

Idris noted that peace and security remained the foundation of economic development, adding that the Federal Government’s goal of achieving prosperity for Nigerians could not be realised without a secure environment.

“There is no development that can ever happen if there is no peace. Peace and security are essential elements. In fact, they are the building blocks of any development that can happen anywhere,” he said.

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The Minister reaffirmed the Ministry’s readiness to work with the Office of the Special Adviser on Homeland Security to improve public understanding of national security issues and encourage citizens to provide useful information to security agencies.

He highlighted the role of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), noting that it has more than 800 offices and over 5,000 personnel across the country.

According to him, the agency’s grassroots presence provides access to communities and individuals who can contribute valuable information for security planning and intelligence gathering.

“They live with the communities. They live with vulcanisers, groundnut sellers, traditional rulers, market women, teachers, students, everybody,” Idris explained.

The Minister explained that information gathered through such interactions could help security authorities better understand developments within communities and respond more effectively to emerging threats.

He also called for coordinated surveillance between the Federal Government and state governments, warning that criminals and terrorists often exploited state boundaries to evade security operations.

“Surveillance cannot be done by just one state alone. There is no one state government. There is not even the federal government alone that can fight this. We need to come together, coordinate,” the Information Minister emphasised.

Idris cited the recent rescue of abducted schoolchildren in Oyo State as evidence of the benefits of stronger coordination among security agencies, the armed forces and local communities.

According to him, the development demonstrated how improved intelligence gathering and cooperation with citizens could strengthen the government’s response to security incidents.

The Minister also urged the media to give greater prominence to the successes and sacrifices of the armed forces and other security personnel combating terrorism, banditry and other criminal activities, while avoiding reports that unnecessarily glorify criminals.

“Terrorists, criminals, bandits, all these people that don’t wish us well are enemies of all of us. We should treat them as such. We need to celebrate. We need to strengthen our armed forces by reporting the successes that they have achieved in their fight against insecurity,” he said.

Idris further identified fake news, misinformation and disinformation as significant security concerns, particularly ahead of the 2027 general elections. He said the Ministry was expanding media and information literacy programmes to help Nigerians identify credible information and reject false reports capable of creating panic or undermining security operations.

“It’s not just enough to be educated, you also have to be media literate for you to discern what is fake news and what is bad,” Idris stressed.

Earlier, the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa, said his office was seeking a structured partnership with the Ministry because public education had become a critical component of national security.

He noted that emerging threats involving artificial intelligence, disinformation, propaganda and perception management required a more proactive approach to information management.

“Unlike before, public information or public education is not just about the media. It is a key capability that is required for Homeland Security,” he said.

Famadewa clarified that the new office was established to complement existing security institutions rather than replace them.

He identified four immediate priorities of the office as establishing a unified national intelligence and surveillance programme, improving border security, addressing anonymity, and developing protocols for reporting and responding to security incidents.

“I will emphasise here that the office is to complement, not to replace any office. The idea is this. No space of land in Nigeria should be left unmonitored. We should be able to see what’s happening, who is moving, and what they are doing,” the Special Adviser said.

Famadewa also called for the development of an incident-reporting platform and stronger community resilience through national orientation, stressing that Nigeria could not rely solely on military force to overcome insecurity.

“It is difficult to shoot our way out of insecurity. But it is easier for us to build the resilience of the nation so that the man who wants to perpetrate violence has some level of resistance from society,” he noted.

The Special Adviser described every Nigerian as a potential source of security intelligence and urged citizens to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities.

“National security is not the work of anybody. It’s the work of every Nigerian. Every Nigerian is a sensor. And if we optimise the sensor ability of every Nigerian, then we’ll have a better society,” he stated.

Both officials expressed confidence that stronger cooperation among the information sector, security agencies and communities would enhance Nigeria’s response to insecurity and support sustainable national development.