{"id":165450,"date":"2025-06-03T15:22:45","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T14:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve"},"modified":"2025-06-03T16:24:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T15:24:07","slug":"emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve","title":{"rendered":"Emergency rule in Benue temporary reprieve,"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Political analyst, Prof Leonard Karshima Shilgba, has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu to reject the call for a state of emergency in Benue State, insisting that resorting to emergency rule without exhausting constitutional and democratic avenues may offer a temporary fix but could erode public trust in the country\u2019s institutions.<\/p>\n

Prof Shilgba made the call in a statement on Tuesday, against the backdrop of the recent spate of attacks and killings in Benue communities by suspected herdsmen.<\/p>\n

In the open letter titled \u2018\u2018A Constitutional and Moral Rebuttal to the Call for Emergency Rule in Benue State\u201d, the Don alleged that the hands of state governors are tied by certain constitutional leashes in the face of insecurity, urging the president to clarify the governor\u2019s security role.<\/p>\n

He said federal security agencies sometimes undermine or ignore state laws, noting that the governor\u2019s power to issue orders to the Commissioner of Police has proven ineffective due to federal override.<\/p>\n

Offering recommendations for the security situation in Benue, Prof Shilga asked President Tinubu to, \u2018\u2018Amend Section 215(4) of the constitution to remove the override by the president or minister or to define specific scenarios where federal override is justified. Define \u201cChief Security Officer\u201d in operational terms\u2014giving governors full command over security within state boundaries unless overridden under a formal emergency.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018The National Assembly, through a constitutional amendment, should create a dual policing system (federal & state police), amend Sections 214\u2013216 and the second schedule to allow states to establish their own police forces. It should retain the federal police for interstate crimes and national threats and ensure mechanisms for coordination between federal and state police.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018Establish State Security Trust Funds: Allow states to establish secure funds to support their police forces, subject to National Assembly guidelines for accountability.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018The Benue State government, in particular, can seek a legislative framework for ad hoc security contrivances such as \u201cAnyam Nyor\u201d. They can collaborate with other states for zonal security, forge inter-state security compacts under Sections 5 and 8 of the Constitution, with federal concurrence and institutionalize civil-military liaison offices, including state-level liaison frameworks for engaging the military and police more effectively.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018State legislatures (pending national reform) can formalise local vigilante groups; establish and regulate community or regional security corps under clear laws, as was done in Amotekun in the Southwest and Ebubeagu in the Southeast while lobbying for federal recognition.<\/p>\n

Prof Shilga further asked President Tinubu to strengthen collaboration between federal and state security agencies to enhance intelligence sharing and operational efficiency.<\/p>\n

He called for the provision of additional resources and support to local security outfits to bolster community policing efforts.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. Political analyst, Prof Leonard Karshima Shilgba, has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu to reject the call for a state of emergency in Benue State, insisting that resorting to emergency rule without exhausting constitutional and democratic avenues may offer a temporary fix but could erode public trust in the country\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":165448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[331,254,17627],"class_list":["post-165450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-benue","tag-nigeria","tag-shilga"],"yoast_head":"\nEmergency rule in Benue temporary reprieve, - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Political analyst, Prof Leonard Karshima Shilgba, has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu to reject the call ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Emergency rule in Benue temporary reprieve,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Political analyst, Prof Leonard Karshima Shilgba, has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu to reject the call ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-03T14:22:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-03T15:24:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/06\/sm_1748951706.613112.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Emergency rule in Benue temporary reprieve,\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-03T14:22:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-03T15:24:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve\"},\"wordCount\":456,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/06\/sm_1748951706.613112.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Benue\",\"Nigeria\",\"Shilga\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/emergency-rule-in-benue-temporary-reprieve\",\"name\":\"Emergency rule in Benue temporary reprieve, - 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