Northern Governors Approve ₦1bn Monthly Joint Security Force to Tackle Worsening Insecurity

The Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, says the inability to fully understand the grievances that drove armed bandits to take up arms has contributed significantly to the worsening insecurity across northern Nigeria.

In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, monitored in Kaduna, Governor Yahaya disclosed that all 19 northern governors have agreed to set up a joint regional security coordination agency. Under the arrangement, each state will contribute ₦1 billion every month to strengthen collective operations against kidnapping, banditry, and the growing wave of school closures.

The decision was reached at a meeting of the Northern Governors earlier in the week, following a fresh surge in raids that have led to mass abductions and forced the shutdown of schools in several states.

Governor Yahaya noted that the crisis deepened because pastoralist communities have long faced unfair treatment and marginalisation, creating anger and frustration that criminal groups have been able to exploit.

He stressed that confronting the underlying issues—ranging from exclusion and injustice to economic hardship—is essential to resolving the conflict in the long term.

The proposed regional security framework, he added, will boost intelligence-sharing, enhance coordinated operations, and strengthen preventive measures across the region.