Jonathan, Abdulsalami, Ooni, Others Advocate for State Police

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed support for the establishment of state police, saying it is non-negotiable.

Mr Jonathan spoke at the “National Dialogue on the Establishment of State Police” organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review on Monday in Abuja.

The dialogue was themed, “Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria.”

Mr Jonathan, a former Bayelsa State governor, said state policing is not up for debate, but rather the establishment of mechanisms to prevent abuse.

“The issue today is very critical. One thing is that we don’t need to debate whether we should have state police or not. I think that matter has been concluded. The issue is the operations of the police,” Mr Jonathan said.

He recounted his experience as governor and some of the actions he had to take to ensure the prevention of abuse.

The former president said the 2014 National Conference organised by his administration supported the creation of state police, adding that Nigeria could not afford to toy with the idea of state police any longer.

“We must not waste our time debating whether we should have state police or not, we should concentrate on how to check abuses by state political actors.

“The key area that we need to debate is how we will run the state police to secure the security architecture of the country so that it is most effective and devoid of any political influence,” Mr Jonathan said.

Also speaking, a former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, stressed the need for transparency in the operation of state police.

He warned that politicians must avoid asserting undue influence over state police.

“If we decide to have them. It is necessary for politicians as much as possible to avoid exerting influence on the ways the police are going to operate if at all we agree to have the police,” Mr Abubakar said.

President Bola Tinubu, in his remarks, said that state policing has the potential to revolutionise law enforcement in Nigeria and cater for different needs.

The president, who was represented by his deputy, Kashim Shettima, urged leaders to ensure that the deliberations continue beyond the hall.

“The concept of state policing is not merely a policy for the proposal but a potential milestone of revolution of our law enforcement framework. It offers the possibility of catering to the diverse needs of our communities.

“It is essential that this forum is not the end, but the beginning of an ongoing conversation on the issue of police and security sector reform in our country.

“The theme of today’s event is a pivotal aspect of our national discourse. It reflects a collective recognition of the need for a more localised, responsive and effective law enforcement framework,” Mr Tinubu said.

In his remarks, the Ooni of Ife, Enitan Ogunwusi, called for action as he informed the audience of the discontent of his subjects over general insecurity.

“We have not seen anybody that has a contrary opinion to this. So technically the people have spoken. The people’s house. So I would commend you. But please swing into action. it is about time. Do something that would be impactful to people. It is very important.

“Whatever take home that you would have today, we have the entire National Assembly here. Please we are the ones feeling the heat from our people. We are traditional rulers. our palaces are not locked. No traditional ruler in this country would dare lock his palace. It’s not possible,” he said.

The monarch also lamented the lopsidedness in the allocation of police, stating that most VIPs in Abuja have police attached to them.

“But you have lots of police securing the permanent secretary, so many police in Abuja and Lagos. You only come to us when you want to go for election. That is when you come to see us. I mean our political leaders. but we are there. no problem. But enough of talking. let’s stop talking and implement this,” Mr Ogunwusi said.

Although most of the leaders spoke in support of state police, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, opposed it.

Mr Egbetokun, who was represented by Ben Okoro, an assistant inspector general of police, instead called for the merger of the police with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Commission (NCDSC) to ensure an effective policing system.

Others who delivered speeches at the event were Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen, Deputy Speaker of the House Ben Kalu, Chief of Defence Staff Christopher Musa, who was represented by Kunle Ariyibi, a major general, and the Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Gaidam.

Other personalities at the event were the Governor of Kwara State and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, AbdulRahaman AbdulRasak, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar.

State police bill

The state police bill currently before the National Assembly seeks the removal of police from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list. The exclusive list contains all items that only the federal government can act upon while the concurrent list contains issues that both the federal government and state governments can act on.

In the last assembly, the state police bill was rejected by the lawmakers, who felt that state governors may abuse state police.

However, in the face of rising insecurity, there seems to be a favourable disposition to the bill by the current assembly.

(PREMIUM TIMES)