Integrating Public Policy Responses to Emerging Security Threats in South-West Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of emerging security threats in South-West Nigeria. Specifically, it evaluates public policy responses to the escalating security challenges in South-West Nigeria, including banditry, kidnapping, herder-farmer conflicts, and political violence. Existing security strategies have shown significant gaps in the region's public policy responses, which have often been fragmented, reactive, and insufficiently integrated, failing to effectively address the complexity of these emerging threats. The research utilizes a qualitative approach, drawing on primary and secondary data, including interviews with security personnel, government officials, and community leaders, as well as content analysis of security-related policy documents. The paper is anchored on the Policy Integration Theory (PIT), which emphasizes the importance of multi-level governance, inter-agency coordination, and adaptive policy frameworks in addressing complex challenges. The findings reveal significant fragmentation in security responses, with weak institutional coordination between federal, state, and local actors, and the limited integration of community-based initiatives. The paper concludes that sustainable strategies, including a convergent policy agenda is pivotal for enhancing security in the South-West region of Nigeria. It proposes the strengthening of inter-agency coordination, institutionalizing regional security initiatives like Amotekun, fostering community engagement, adapting policies to emerging threats, and leveraging technology in security governance across the region. A very important ancillary to these functional strategies is a sweeping constitutional reforms that prioritize clearer provisions on the control, funding and management of security architecture in the country, which must also define the boundaries of power and responsibilities between the levels of government in the federation.