People-Centred Public Safety: Offering Security With Dignity In Benue

By Bridget Tikyaa

On 24th February 2026, a people-centred public safety programme initiated by Lawyers Alert will be launched by Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State. The initiative is targeting communities to raise awareness and elicit action on their safety, dignity, and future.

Coined People-Centred Public Safety (PCPS) Programme, the initiative is a lawful, rights-based approach to strengthening collaboration between communities and formal security institutions, grounded firmly within Nigeria’s legal framework.

Dr Rommy Mom, President, Lawyers Alert says the programme is a structured, community-driven public safety framework that places citizens, especially women, youth, and vulnerable groups, at the centre of security governance.

“It is not a vigilante system. It is not parallel security. It is not political,” he said.

Rather, the programme draws its legitimacy from the Nigeria Police Act 2020, particularly its provisions on community policing, partnership, intelligence sharing, and public accountability. Particularly, the part where the Act explicitly recognises community participation, transparency, and trust in policing.

In a practical, structured manner, PCPS operationalizes these principles. It also aligns with the Constitution of Nigeria, human rights obligations binding on Nigeria, and is in line with Benue State Government’s mandate of protecting lives and property.

The programme is therefore premised on the essential fact that public safety can not be achieved by force alone. It must be built on trust, accountability, and partnership.

Essentially, the persistent insecurity, including attacks on rural communities, displacement, farmer-herder conflict, banditry, and communal violence in Benue state, has strained relationships between communities and security institutions. It is therefore necessary to rebuild trust while strengthening security effectiveness through People-Centred Public Safety programmes.

According to Dr Rommy Mom, the pilot programme run in Katsina-Ala and Guma Local Government Areas was a huge success.

“In these LGAs, we established Community Policing Committees, Early Warning and Early Response Hubs, Structured dialogue platforms between citizens and security agencies, Women-inclusive safety consultations, and Rights-based reporting mechanisms.

“The results have been measurable: Improved information flow between communities and security actors, faster response to emerging threats, increased women’s participation in safety discussions and reduction in mistrust and rumour-driven panic. Strengthened accountability in local security engagements.

“Importantly, PCPS has demonstrated that when communities are treated as partners rather than suspects, intelligence improves, and violence reduces,” the President of Lawyers Alert said.

Following its demonstrated impact in Katsina-Ala and Guma, the programme has now been introduced in Agatu LGA, another conflict-affected area with significant security concerns.

Agatu’s inclusion reflects both demand from communities and confidence from the Benue State Government in the effectiveness of the model.

The expansion signals a shift from pilot experimentation to structured institutionalization.

The forthcoming launch on 24 February 2026 by Governor Hyacinth Alia, will therefore not be another ceremonial event but a reflection of government ownership of a tested security innovation and institutional commitment to rights-based security governance.

It will be a demonstration of the importance of strategic partnership between the state, civil society, and development partners, and an affirmation that security in Benue must be collaborative and accountable. It also underscores the administration’s determination to enhance safety outcomes through partnership rather than isolation.

The PCPS clearly challenges the wrong notion that state governments are limited in their ability to influence security outcomes.

While security architecture is federally structured, states can strengthen coordination, enhance intelligence gathering, and build trust-based frameworks that dramatically improve security effectiveness. Benue State is clearly demonstrating leadership in operationalizing what the Nigeria Police Act already envisions.

It is therefore fundamentally imperative for traditional leaders, Youth groups, Women leaders, Faith-based organizations, and the media to support the institutionalisation of People-Centred Public Safety initiative as security is not the responsibility of the government alone but a shared civic duty.

Given the votality of the security situation, the media must report responsibly, verify information, and highlight positive community-security partnerships that strengthen peace.

People-Centred Public Safety is not a project; it is a philosophy of governance. It is a bridge between citizens and the state. It is security with dignity. It is partnership over fear.

It is therefore necessary that from 24th February 2026, all well-meaning citizens of Benue State support this initiative as the government takes this decisive step toward institutionalising this vision.

Bridget Tikyaa, PSA Strategic Communications to Gov. Alia, writes from Government House, Makurdi