THE QUEST FOR PEACE AND SECURITY IN IMO STATE: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

A time there was in Nigeria when Imo state was adjudged the most peaceful and secured state in Nigeria. At a point, things started falling apart even before the present administration, to the extent that today insecurity in Imo State has assumed an intractable proportion and has become a major cause for concern to the residents. The situation is such that politicians have now turned it into a major campaign issue. Whereas the government in power claims that the insecurity in Imo State is politically contrived by the opposition parties, the opposition parties on their part accuse the government of being responsible. Against the above background, this article aims to outline some of the general causes of lack of peace and security and the negative impact on the life and property of the citizens, as well as the socio-economic development of the state. In undertaking the above task, the doctrinal methodology is adopted and the analysis is predicated on the theories of collective security system and the sociological theory of law as an instrument of social engineering. In analyzing the issues, the article advanced the recognition that the security and welfare of the citizens is the primary purpose of government. It went further to deconstruct the concept of government and argued that the ultimate responsibility for the security of the life and property of the citizens is that of both the government as agent of the people and the people themselves as the principal. The paper concluded with the proposition that it has become imperative to collectively and dispassionately interrogate the causes of the current wave of insecurity in the State and recommended some applicable kinetic and non-kinetic salutary measures.