From Tony Osauzo, Benin
The President of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. (Dr.) Stephen Panya, has called for the restructuring of the country’s security system to enable state governors have control of security agencies in their domain to achieve quick response to security challenges like kidnappings, banditry, killings and other crimes.
He made the call in Benin City during the installation of some district executive members and commissioning of newly built hostel and district secretariat for the Edo/Delta District of the church weekend.
Reverend Panya stressed that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari has failed completely in providing security for the country, lamenting that ECWA Church has been a major victim of attacks on churches in the middle belt and northern part of Nigeria.
“For a long time, we have been talking to the government to rejig the security architecture of this country, we kept shouting that they needed to change the security chiefs, thank God though belatedly that has been done, it is better late than never that the security chiefs were changed but the level of deterioration of security in this country has reached stage that it is very clear that the federal government has failed, it has failed completely under the present leadership of President Muhamadu Buhari so there is need for a restructuring of this nation especially in the area of security.
“I think states need to have more direct control and command of security apparatus. Some states have already taken their initiative by setting up their security networks like in the southwest where we have the amotekun and I think that is really a very great idea and step to take and I think it is even better to constitutionally allow states to have their own security apparatus be it state police, and all others so that the governors who are the chief security officers of their states will be able to take decisive actions timely action in order to arrest crisis and other security issues that are bedevilling the states because as of now, they are incapacitated because even though the commissioner of police and commanders of armies and other security agencies are resident in the states, they don’t take orders from the state governors, they tale orders from the federal level and this is the reason why we are having continual deterioration”, he said.
The ECWA President while commenting on attacks on churches, said “ECWA is among the foremost churches in the line of persecution of Christians in this country. A lot of our churches have been destroyed and burnt, we have lost a lot of our members in the Fulani Jihadists, herdsmen attacks in Southern Kaduna in particular but also in what is taking place in Shiroro now so we have borne the brunt of the attacks that is taking place on the middle belt and northern part of the country”.
