Abuja — December 4, 2025 | Dalena Reporters
National Peace Committee event held in Abuja on Thursday saw the Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, caution against the growing idea of arming communities or encouraging vigilante self-defence as a solution to Nigeria’s deepening insecurity. He described the widespread belief that distributing weapons will restore safety as a “false sense of security” and emphasized that such measures fail to tackle the root causes of violence.
Kukah argued that Nigeria’s security crisis extends far beyond acts of armed violence; it is underpinned by long-standing social ailments such as unstable family structures, fragmented communities, and weakened moral foundations — conditions he said have created fertile ground for criminals to thrive. According to him, relying on arms alone is not only ineffective but dangerous, as weapons distributed under the guise of protection risk being misused or becoming part of future insecurity.
Stressing a “whole-of-society” strategy, the bishop urged the federal and state governments to lead with humility, transparency and justice, while calling on religious, traditional, civil-society leaders, women and youth to step forward and reclaim the moral ground of communities. He insisted that long-term peace can only be achieved through solidarity, social reforms, justice, and collective responsibility — not through guns.
Kukah’s intervention comes amid rising debate over whether community-based armed patrols and local militias should be formalised as part of Nigeria’s security architecture — a move many argue could undermine the rule of law and worsen the cycle of violence. His remarks are a strong pushback against calls for decentralised armed self-defence, offering instead a vision of peace rooted in social cohesion and institutional reform.