The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has advocated community policing as key strategy for tackling insecurity across the country.

The Sultan said sustainable peace could only be achieved through collaboration between security agencies and local communities.

Represented by the Chiroman Kano, Alhaji Adamu Lamido Sanusi, the Sultan spoke on Wednesday at the Arewa Awareness Summit on Unity Against Insecurity, held at the Arewa House, Kaduna.

According to the Sultan, community members, particularly youths, possess firsthand knowledge of their environment and should be actively involved in intelligence gathering and crime prevention.

“I personally believe in community policing. To fight crime, we have to work with the people,” he said.

The monarch said he had consistently worked with imams, religious leaders, youth groups and other community stakeholders to promote peace and strengthen security in his domain.

“I personally work with the imams, religious leaders, youth groups and other community stakeholders to address the challenges in my area, working to ensure peace and security in the community,” he said.

He described intelligence gathering as indispensable in combating crime, noting that residents often have better knowledge of suspicious activities within their communities than outsiders.

“The people in the community, especially the youth, are already in the community. They know the community and the areas better than anyone else. You are able to gather more information through collaboration with the community and through multiple agencies working together in the community,” he said.

According to him, effective cooperation between communities and security agencies would significantly strengthen efforts to tackle banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities.

“So, this cooperation, this working together hand in hand, is highly important in fighting crime in our communities and in the country,” he added.

The Sultan also commended the organisers of the summit, describing the initiative as a timely platform for exchanging ideas and strengthening partnerships to address insecurity in Northern Nigeria.

“I commend this programme. It is a very good initiative to listen to, and I hope we will continue to listen and learn more from our key speakers,” he said.

He said he attended the summit to learn from experts and deepen his understanding of emerging security issues.

“I am really glad to be here at this programme, and I am looking forward to learning from the key speakers. I really wish to learn from them as part of my daily job,” he said.

Earlier, the Director-General of the Arewa for Peace, Unity, Cohesion and Development Initiative (ACI), Dr Abdullahi Idris, said the summit was convened to develop practical solutions to insecurity in Northern Nigeria.

He said participants were expected to develop strategies that would strengthen dialogue between communities and the government while promoting collective action against insecurity.