TheNewsGuru

Tag: state police

  • What we are waiting for to have State Police in Lagos – Attorney General

    What we are waiting for to have State Police in Lagos – Attorney General

    The Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN) has said the State is fully ready for State Police, and only waiting for whistle to be blown for the creation.

    Pedro made the statement in an interview on the sideline of the 10th Ramadan Lecture organised by Anwar-ul Islam Old Students Association (ACAOSA), on Saturday in Lagos.

    The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said that he had been advocating state police as far back as 2001, to improve the state security.

    “As far back as 2001, I have always maintained that the security of this country will be addressed by having state police or community police.

    “We are talking about police system that is indigenous to the people themselves.

    “Lagos is over ready for the state police. I can assure you that because we have our own Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps already in place and fully kitted and ready with even body cameras.

    “I think we are ready to go in Lagos. If any state is ready, I can confirm to you today from what Mr Governor – Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu – has done, Lagos State is ready.

    “Just give the whistle and you see our police officers on the road,” Pedro told NAN.

    Stressing the imperative of indigenous police in each state, the legal luminary said such police would have better understanding of the environment, black spots and escape routes for criminals.

    He said that federal police, who might not be conversant with terrains of their postings, would not be able to do much like people who were native to the environment.

    “The indigenous police will know in the community those who are bad boys and those who are not.

    “Criminals will not be able to escape, and if they do, the indigenous police will know their hideouts and where they can be found.

    “Now you come and bring a police officer from Kaduna to come and police Lagos Island, evil people will keep escaping.

    ” If the robbers escape the hand of the community policeman in that community, such indigenous police will know where to go and get them out. So, that is the advantage.”

    Commenting on fear of abuse being expressed by some schools of thought, Pedro said that the advantages in state police were higher that the disadvantages.

    “I agree with people who are afraid that the state police can be hijacked by some politicians. But in everything in life, there are advantages and disadvantages.

    “When the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, I think we should follow the path. The only thing is to walk it around to ensure that those potential abuses are curtailed,” he said.

    The 10th Annual ACAOSA Ramadan Lecture is entitled, “Economic insecurity in Nigeria -Islamic Solutions”.

    It drew together many old students of Anwar-ul Islam College Agege, formerly known as Ahmadiyya College Agege.

  • Forget State Police; Perhaps a National Guard Instead – By Chidi Amuta

    Forget State Police; Perhaps a National Guard Instead – By Chidi Amuta

    Nigeria’s now perennial insecurity has been damaged by political laziness. Every two- penny politician has developed a habit of weaponizing insecurity as political language. In the process, very little effort or rigour is devoted to the reality of what we are dealing with. Even those who are paid to keep us safe tend to resort to simplistic solutions to what is clearly a complex problem. Everyone seems to be mimicking politicians, talking frequently about insecurity as if the problem will go away the more we talk about it.

    National insecurity as we have come to know it has grown in dimension and scope over the last twelve years or so. When factions of jihadist terrorists invade local governments in parts of Borno or Yobe state, we are dealing with threats to Nigeria’s sovereignty by an adversary that may indeed be ‘external’ with inputs from ignorant local zealots. They take and hold territory, convert citizens into dissidents and collect taxes and levies  and in the process extract loyalties that ordinarily belong to a sovereign authority. This level of national insecurity belongs in the realm of external aggression by a concerted foreign adversary. It does not matter whether it recruits and arms our citizens to do its bidding or draws inspiration from an external multinational ideology such as fanatical Islamist fundamentalism. We must call it its real name and design and deploy containment instruments and strategies that befit an external aggression.

    With the onset of the Boko Haram insurgency in parts of the North East, Nigeria can be said to have been involved in a counter insurgency war for the better part of the past twelve years. In the process, Boko Haram has sometimes been degraded, reinforced, splintered or been acquired by ISWAP and other franchises  born and bred in the Middle East and nurtured in the turbulent Sahel. Have we been winning or losing that war? Yes and no. We have at least retaken most of the local governments that the terrorists  initially acquired as part of an evil caliphate in the hot days of  Al Queda and ISIS. But the fact that twelve years after the inauguration of Boko Haram, factions of this movement are still taking huge numbers of hostages and razing buildings is an indictment of whatever effort we have exerted so far.

    In the immediate neighbouring precincts of the insurgency war- Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara- hybrid forms of insurgent insecurity have taken shape. Banditry, quantum abductions and kidnapping for ransom are now recognized forms of national insecurity. Initially, these hybrid forms acted as retail arms of the larger jihadist insurgency. They used to  supply them with hostages, sha ransoms and collected revenue and hide under their ideological umbrella for greater political relevance. Over time, however, the bandits and other downstream criminal gangs have come unto their own. They mostly now operate as independent criminal enterprises with a purely commercial purpose. This form of insecurity has graduated into a criminal enterprise. They carry out daring raids, collect huge ransoms which is reinvested in more arms for further raids. The industry grows.

    In this form, agents of insecurity have sometimes reached for recognition by state governments and agencies of  national security. Some local bandit squads have in the recent past reached understandings with individual state governments and even posed for photo opportunities with them after these meetings. Implicit in such unholy alliances is a certain illicit power sharing arrangement. Under these arrangements, embattled state governments are known to have ceded parts of their territory to bandit squads, allowing them  to collect revenue from locals and to wield authority over some local governments literally unchallenged.

    This form of national insecurity is inherently dangerous because it cedes parts of the national sovereign space and authority to non -state actors and in the process accords them space and scope to disturb the peace, make lots of money and whittle down the capacity of security agencies to exercise total control over  the national sovereign space. More dangerously, illicit non -state actors partake of national resources to make the nation even more  ungovernable while also compromising segments and aspects of national  security structures and personnel.

    The atmosphere of insecurity created by the proliferation and free reign of bandit squads and roving armed cartels has led to a spread in the supply of small to medium scale arms. Retail editions of trouble makers like armed robbers, small time kidnappers and urban cults have found an atmosphere of general insecurity that is both lucrative and in vogue. An industry of sorts has been born. Herdsmen that were originally engaged in herding and the livestock trade have since found kidnapping, armed robbery and abductions more lucrative than escorting scraggy herds around the nation.

    We cannot fail to add to this picture the thriving political industry and its inherent criminal offshoots. Political thugs, licensed state militias and all manner of private armies have in the last twenty four years of democracy  come into being. Political supremacy in most parts of the country has come with the help of armed thugs generously supplied with weapons, narcotics and other dangerous substances. In post election periods, these political agents of violence tend to find work for their hands anduse for their weapons in sundry criminal undertakings. In an atmosphere where employment is scarce and easy money quickly runs dry, the political industry has perhaps inadvertently been fueling the atmosphere of national insecurity  which the same politicians return to convert into campaign issues in the next election cycle.

    The fierce competition for political vantage placement has also led to the growth of ethnic, regional and other separatist movements. They generally start out by shouting for recognition and relevance in a national space that deliberately ignores extant disquiet. When no one seems to be listening, the rhetoricof separatist agitators assumes an incendiary tone. Soon enough, the more determined ones set up armed militias since the authorities tend to listen more when their monopoly of violence is challenged by an equally fierce contender for power and political space. Armed separatist movements have in the last ten years therefore added their voice and muscle to the spread of violence as a means of political expression in the country. IPOB, ESN and the various Niger Delta militias belong in this sphere.

    This is the effective backdrop to the current situation in which governments at nearly every level seem to have been held to ransom by all these forms of insecurity all over the country. The sheer expanse of the insecurity landscape is more vast than the entire security asset base of the country can deal with. Therefore, bandits and all sorts of criminals are fairly certain that the security agencies cannot easily interrupt their operations let alone effectively trail or arrest them.

    There is no lack of response from government. Endless meetings have taken place between politicians and service chiefs. The two chambers of the National Assembly have met severally with the service chief. State governors have met repeatedly with the president with the matter of insecurity topping the agenda of every meeting. The Federal government has gone to considerable length to acquire weapons of war  from all corners of the globe to combat what has become a systemic insecurity. It has become systemic because it has become self- regenerating, having become an economic sub sector which requires  self sustainability to drive itself as a series of economic activities.

    Last month, however, an emergency meeting of the president and state governors was prompted by an increase in incidents of insecurity in and around the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. The most consequential decision of that meeting was a decision to begin the implementation of the long canvassed introduction of State Police as a silver bullet to end insecurity in the country.

    One of the strongest arguments advanced by advocates of a State Police system is local knowledge and proximity to the community origins of criminality around the country. This argument is not new. Nor are we just being introduced to perspectives about  how to solve insecurity in the country.

    Given the picture of the multi dimensional nature of our insecurity,  no single item agenda can deal with the problem. State Police is fraught with many weaknesses. It is likely to be commandeered by ambitious state governors into private political weapons. The operatives could become terror squads who use their new found power and uniforms to torment innocent people. State Police can further divide the country,  terrorize the people they are supposed to protect and reduce the effectiveness of the existing national police force.  Misuse of the powers of the State Police can further divide the country. After all, before the civil war, we had regional police formations. They became part of the divisive forces that had to be neutralized to reunify the country in 1970.

    It is undeniable that one of the benefits of over four decades of military rule and the civil war is the emergence of a unified police and military command. That benefit cannot be wiped away by the present anxiety over insecurity. Nothing has so far happened in our national security situation that invalidates or overrides the advantages of national integration in matters of police or military command and national security control. On the contrary, what our situation requires is a serious interrogation of the overall internal security situation in the country to determine why the existing structure has not quite served us well enough.

    We are under policed. The police has been overwhelmed for years in terms of personnel and equipment. Equipment and recruitment in the police has not matched our population growth and the rate of sophistication of the criminal enterprise. Similarly, the military has in the post civil war era found itself in roles that have degraded its operational capability and professional advancement. The involvement of the military and entire gamut of national security apparatus in internal security has militated against real professional development of the various services.  Our military is today involved in civil security operations in all of our 36 states and Abuja.

    As indicated earlier, the profile of our internal security challenges presents a complex picture that may not have fully dawned on the present state. At the end of the civil war, the enemy was either  an external aggressor or internal criminals. The civil populace wanted to be at peace after the trauma of war. While a war -tested military was adequate for the former role, the police was more than adequate for the latter task of keeping the peace.  The military is defined in its role. Its rules of engagement are self -defining: defend or be conquered. The police is a civil force with rules of engagement circumscribed by democracy and the civil rights of free citizens.

    Towards the end of the Babangida regime, a different internal security picture began to emerge. A different type of civil unrest became more manifest. Inter communal  violence began to feature among groups that had coexisted for years. Between the Jukun and their neighbours, in the Zango Kataf area of Southern Kaduna, in parts of the Niger Delta etc. Sections of the country began to witness problems of ethno national integration. Even within the newly created states, issues of inter communal co -existence began to show up. There was a perception then than the task of nation building was largely uncompleted and still needed to be fine -tuned. A different type of trouble maker was emerging. Armed militants intent on challenging the federal might were in the horizon.

    The new forms of violent self -assertion were more than the police could deal with but a little less ferocious than what a full military engagement was required to deal with.  The necessity was therefore for an intermediate force; something not as tame and civil as the police and also not as ferocious and terminal as the military. Thus was born the idea of the National Guard. Unfortunately, this idea came too late in Babangida’s troubled political transition programme. Opposition to the possibility of a Babangida self- perpetuation ploy also became part of the opposition to the idea of a National Guard. For the political class, no good or disinterested idea could come from the beleaguered military administration. Both were thrown away  with the same birth water.

    Here we are once again with an insecurity challenge that literally re-writes the challenge that was envisioned by the authors of the National Guard over 30 years ago.  The idea of the National Guard was to have a uniform national organization but with substantial state government control on deployment. It should be a mid intensity force that is civil enough to realize that the criminals and trouble makers in each state are first and foremost Nigerians with full civic rights. It however needs to be taken more seriously than the police at the local government office who separates domestic fights and settles quarrels among siblings.

    The National Guard should be under the ultimate control of the president as commander in chief without whose endorsement no state governor has the power to deploy the National Guard. But the National Guard needs to be composed of state contingents who are familiar with the local terrain.

    In the United States, the National Guard is an offshoot of the army. It is made up of army reservists who are called up for specific tours of duty for specific lengths of time annually. In times of national emergency above the call of the police but less intense than requiring the military, the army can advise the president to call in the National Guard. The desirable Nigerian National Guard should be a variant of this format.

    On no account must we establish and equip a separate state police force and place it under the control of our emergent crop of imperial governors. That would be an invitation to quick anarchy.

  • State police and the trouble to come – By Dennis Onakinor

    State police and the trouble to come – By Dennis Onakinor

    A sacrosanct responsibility of the government of any country, be it a democracy or an autocracy, is the protection of life and property. In apparent recognition of this irreducible fact, President Bola Tinubu recently decided upon the creation of “State Police” as a solution to Nigeria’s mounting insecurity problem. Rising from a one-day meeting attended by the country’s 36 State governors and other high-level stakeholders, on February 15, 2024, the president announced through a spokesman that he had begun the groundwork for the establishment of “State Police” in the country. In other words, the Federal government had commenced the constitutional process for empowering all 36 State governments to operate a State Police Force (SPF) that would coexist with the Federal government’s Nigerian Police Force (NPF).

    Relatedly, on February 20, 2024, the Nigerian mainstream media was agog with the news that the bill for the establishment of the SPF had passed the Second Reading at the country’s lower legislative chamber, the House of Representatives, thus setting the stage for the amendment of the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution that would enable the transfer of the functions of police from the “Exclusive” to the “Concurrent” legislative list. With President Tinubu’s staunch support, there is every likelihood that the requisite constitutional amendment will seamlessly scale the legislative hurdles of the National Assembly and the 36 State Houses of Assembly.

    Indeed, the insecurity plaguing Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, is troubling, especially as the security agencies have failed to rise to the challenge. In the North-Eastern parts of the country, Boko Haram and ISWAP militants continue to unleash murderous terrorism upon the helpless inhabitants. In the North-West, a hydra-headed banditry rooted in ethno-religious squabbles and socio-economic desperation has become the scourge of the people. Down in the Middle Belt, mass-killings fueled by ethnic Fulani nomadism continue to plague the hapless sedentary farmers of the region. Across the South-East rages a form of multi-faceted criminality fueled by the separatist agitations of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its paramilitary Eastern Security Network (ESN). The South-West sees blood-money ritualists and sundry criminal elements posing existential threat to law-abiding citizens. Down in the South-South, a myriad of criminal elements masquerade as resource-control agitators, while quickly metamorphosing into party thugs and goon squads at the behest of political godfathers. 

    Suffice to say that the above-highlighted multi-dimensional insecurity situation in Nigeria is being exacerbated by the country’s prevailing harsh socio-economic conditions, which have seen the masses groan loudly in the pains of hunger, hardship, and disappointment. Hence, the Federal government’s attempt to tackle the insecurity situation through the introduction of SPF seems laudable. But, as the popular saying goes, a drowning man would unhesitatingly cling to a monstrous serpent. In this wise, the government’s bid to quell the country’s raging insecurity through the establishment of SPF is akin to the desperation of “a drowning man,” irrespective of the groundswell of support.              

    Viewed from a realpolitik perspective, SPF in Nigeria portends a monstrosity that would only serve to protract the country’s insecurity challenge. Simply put, a viable solution to that challenge lies not in the massive deployment of police operatives wielding AK-47 rifles menacingly in every nook and cranny of the 36 States of the Federation. Otherwise, the proposed SPF would turn out to be another version of the infamous Mobile Police (MOPOL) that had notoriously acquired the sobriquet of “Kill-and-Go,” due to the trigger-happy tendencies of its operatives. Or it would turn out to be a reinvention of the dreaded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) that had literally turned itself into “a group of armed robbers in uniform” before a national protest occasioned its disbandment in October 2020. 

    State Police proponents vociferously maintain that Nigeria being a federation, the police function should be shared concurrently between the federal and state governments, contrary to the present practice of federal exclusivity. And in this light, they are quick to reference the US where the federal, state, and local authorities jointly share that responsibly. But conveniently, they often fail to mention that US citizens are constitutionally empowered to bear arms as contained in the “2nd Amendment.” Hence, unlike Nigeria, the proliferation of arms in the US society is virtually a non-issue, whereas the argument about SPF revolves around the proliferation of arms and the escalation of violent crimes in the society.

    As argued by opponents of SPF, Nigeria’s insecurity situation no longer requires the gung-ho tactics of police and military patrol teams, who impudently harass and brutalize innocent citizens, especially commercial vehicle commuters. Instead, the situation demands the deployment of an assortment of well-trained security operatives and intelligence agents equipped with sophisticated instruments, including surveillance cameras, listening devices, night vision goggles, etc. Security analyses have shown that a greater percentage of the terrorism and banditry occurring in the country is not being perpetrated by urban-based elements, but by those whose havens are dense forests, swamplands, and remote rural farmlands. Hence the deployment of amoured fighting vehicles, drones, helicopter gunships, fighters and bombers, is an imperative in the campaign against the terrorists and bandits.      

    Unfortunately, this line of argument doesn’t seem to resonate with the advocates of SPF, who stridently maintain that the failure of the security agencies, especially the SPF, to rise to the country’s security challenge is due to the following factors, among others: the inability of the security personnel deployed outside their States of origin to understand their operational environment, especially the local language, since Nigeria comprises about 360 ethnic groups and 625 linguistic ones; shortage of personnel and inadequate facilities due to lack of funds. Cynically, some even maintain that the NPF, as presently constituted, is a tool for actualizing the hegemonic designs of a particular section of the country.

    There is no gainsaying the fact that the issues underlying the non-performance of the NPF are even more likely to occur under the SPF dispensation, as most of the concerned 36 States are microcosms of Nigeria, especially in terms of ethno-linguistic configuration. Presently, a lot of State governments find it difficult to provide their people with basic infrastructural facilities like schools, hospitals, pipe-borne water, good roads, etc. Undoubtedly, they would also be unable to fund an effective police force, which requires sophisticated equipment and weapons such as riot gears, gas shields, water cannons, handguns, assault rifles, machine guns, armoured personnel carriers, motorcycles, speed cars, speed boats, drones, helicopters and light aircraft, as well as sophisticated communication devices.

    Well-known is the fact that most State government employees, especially those of the teaching profession, often endure the non-payment of their salaries for several consecutive months, thus occasioning the ironical joke that, “Teachers’ reward is in heaven.” Well, it must be made abundantly clear that the proposed SPF operatives would certainly not want their reward in heaven, but here on earth. And in the event of a delay in the payment of their salaries, they are more likely to resort to acts of extortion and violent criminality. For, a hungry man is an angry man, and an angry armed man is a very dangerous man.  

    There is palpable apprehension that the SPF could metamorphose into a tool of political victimization in the hands of State governors. Tales abound concerning several past and present State governors who had sought to deploy the NPF command in their States against their political opponents, even as they do not have total control over the police command, due to the matrix reporting system that makes a State Police Commissioner accountable to the Inspector General of Police, while also being answerable to the Governor of his State of assignment. But with State governors firmly in control of SPF, there is a high probability that they would use them to intimidate and subjugate their political opponents. 

    For instance, in 2014, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, with the aid of the NPF command in his State, violently disrupted the activities of the State House of Assembly by dismantling the roof of the Assembly building as he sought to forestall the members’ impeachment threat against him. In December 2023, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State borrowed a leaf from Oshiomhole by demolishing the entire Rivers State House of Assembly complex as members of the House sought to impeach him. Back in October 2022, Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State shut down five media houses in the State for committing the “offence” of covering the political campaign rally of a rival party opponent. In a nutshell, the name of the acts of impunity committed by past and present State governors is “Legion,” because they are too numerous to catalogue.

    A vocal ex-Senator from Kaduna State, Shehu Sani, aptly captures the political scenario that would emerge under the SPF dispensation: “The State Police will simply be an armed wing of the ruling party in each state … It’s a recipe for anarchy.” To say the least, the ex-Senator’s statement borders on the prophetic. For, when the establishment of the proposed SPF eventually gets the constitutional go-ahead, the recruits would certainly comprise acolytes and sycophants as well thugs and goons sponsored by top officials and henchmen of the ruling party in each state. Hence, the force will inadvertently owe its allegiance to the ruling party, which will end up deploying it against the opposition in its bid to perpetuate itself in power. 

    Since those who make peaceful change impossible ultimately make violent change inevitable, the attempt by the ruling party of a State to use the SPF to perpetuate itself in power is bound to be violently resisted by the opposition, especially when that opposition belongs to the national ruling party. Under this scenario, the resultant chaos and anarchy would pose an unimaginable threat to the country’s socio-political stability. Here lies the main trouble to come in the event of the introduction of SPF in Nigeria. 

    But “a stitch in time saves nine.” Therefore, the fears being entertained by opponents of SPF in Nigeria must not be swept aside. Otherwise, its creation would occasion an avoidable anarchical situation that would pose an existential threat to the country. For now, one can only hope and pray against this nightmarish scenario.

     

    Dennis Onakinor writes from Lagos – Nigeria, and can be reached via e-mail at dennisonakinor@yahoo.com 

  • PDP governors back calls for creation of state police

    PDP governors back calls for creation of state police

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum has expressed full support for the creation of State Police, saying it will address the current security challenges confronting the country.

    The Governor of Bauchi State and Chairman of the forum, Bala Mohammed, said this on Thursday when he led his colleagues in the forum on a visit to Gov. Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau at the Government House in Jos.

    Mohammed, who decried the rising security challenges across the country, said that state police would complement the efforts of the conventional security agencies.

    According to him, state police will provide an opportunity for governors to handle the security situation in their respective states with ease.

    ”The ratio of police to the citizens is very low and the governors know the peculiarity of their states and how to tackle this challenge.

    ”So, we have been advocating for this.

    “There is need for the decentralisation of the security apparatus so that we can deliver good governance by having state police.

    ”Again, it will give us the opportunity to engage the structure of the security agencies, training our youths and making sure the rules of engagement are not abused and there is no extrajudicial killings.

    ”We will work in tandem with the established best global practice than being forced to be using vigilante and even at that we are working with the secuirty agencies, but we are still being accused of pursuing our interest.

    ”We can see what is happening in Zamfara and the Amotekun in the South-West where citizens are sleeping with their eyes closed,” he said.

    Mohmammed further said that PDP had always stood for good governance, in spite of the lean resources at their disposal.

    He gave assurance that residents of PDP-controlled states would continue to enjoy the dividend of democracy.

    Responding, Mutfwang thanked his colleagues for the solidarity visit, adding that it would further encourage the people to be firm at all times.

    He said that the failure of previous administrations in the country toward tackling insecurity further aggravated the situation.

    ”Insecurity has become a serious challenge for us in this country and this is largely due to the neglect of previous governments.

    ”No one has been jailed in the past for these killkngs, which is why it has lingered.

    ”But we are not deterred. We will rebuild trust in our people because the lack of it has been one of the major issues,” Mutfwang said

    Govs. Ademola Adeleke of Osun, Sheyi Makinde of Oyo State, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, Peter Mbah of Enugu State and Godwin Obaseki of Edo were part of the visit.

    The forum donated N100 million to Plateau Government to support the victims of recent attacks in the state.

    NAN

  • Lagos Assembly makes fresh demand for state police

    Lagos Assembly makes fresh demand for state police

    The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed a resolution urging the National Assembly to begin fresh process of the amendment of the 1999 Constitution for the establishment of state police.

    The House passed the resolution in a vote conducted by the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, on Tuesday in its first plenary since its inauguration on June 6.

    The House also called on Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to urgently equip the Neighbourhood Safety Corps of the state so that its personnel could effectively perform the task of community policing.

    Recall that the ninth House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, rejected a bill seeking the creation of state police.

    Obasa explained that the creation of state police would stem the increasing spate of insecurity in parts of the country.

    The speaker noted with concern, recent attacks on communities in some states of the federation with many citizens losing their lives and belongings.

    Obasa, recalling some of the latest attacks he read about the killing of some residents in Plateau State, noted the abduction of the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Mr Paul Omotoso.

    The speaker said though the Lagos Assembly had consistently clamoured for the establishment of state police, “this is the appropriate time for the Senate and the House of Representatives to begin an amendment of the Constitution to contain the creation of the alternative policing system.

    “While I commend the ninth National Assembly for doing a lot to amend the constitution, “there is the need for us to call on the 10th National Assembly to see it as a matter of urgency to make the issue of state policing a major factor of development,” he said.

    Supporting the Speaker, Mr Gbolahan Yishawu (APC-Eti-Osa II) commended the speaker for bringing up the issue of state policing again.

    “We remember very well that it was you that sponsored the bill on Neighbourhood Safety Corps and we see what it has done for our state and how other states are copying it,” he said.

    While praising President Bola Tinubu for starting well with moves to rejig the economy, Yishawu added that security still remains at the heart of a country’s progress.

    The motion was supported by other lawmakers who complained about the inadequate number of police personnel in Lagos and also suggested police reforms at the national level.

    The lawmakers further argued that the establishment of state police would boost employment across the country.

    Meanwhile, the Lagos Assembly has congratulated Tinubu over his election as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States  (ECOWAS).

    The House said it believes in Tinubu’s capacity to bring the countries under ECOWAS to work together.

    At the plenary, the House also resolved a report relating to issues of legislative compliance on appointment of some Governor’s nominees without approval of the House of Assembly.

    The lawmakers urged the Executive arm to henceforth act in conformity with the law.

  • Bishop to Christians: Procure arms, defend yourselves against invaders

    Bishop to Christians: Procure arms, defend yourselves against invaders

    In the face of unending security challenges in the country, the Anglican Bishop of Akure Diocese in Ondo State, Nigeria, Rt. Rev. Simeon Borokini has charged Christians to procure arms legitimately to defend themselves against invaders.

    Rt. Rev. Borokini, who is the Archbishop of Ondo Ecclesiastical Province, gave the charge at the first session of the 14th synod of Akure Diocese, held at Saint Andrew’s Church, Akure, the state capital.

    Borokini, while calling on the government to find a lasting solution to the problem of insecurity ravaging the country, berated the Federal Government for being insensitive to the security situation in the country.

    According to the Bishop, the best thing for Christians to do is to get arms legitimately to defend themselves. He also decried the attack on the church by the suspected terrorists.

    “Anybody willing to have something to protect himself should get a license. If it is a gun or anything that anyone wants to use to protect himself, I will support it since the government seems to be negligent as far as security is concerned,” Borokini said.

    The Archbishop also called on the Federal Government to amend the constitution in order for the state governments to have their own police.

    He said: “The number of policemen that we have cannot protect all the citizens that we have in the country. So, we should do something at the local level.

    “We have been asking all our church leaders to comply with the installation of Closed-circuit television cameras in the church; they should get the gadgets before August 1, 2022, which is the deadline”.

    The cleric appealed to every facet of the government to put in place sound government intervention and heightened attention to strengthen the manufacturing sector in order to expand and grow the economy, thereby, creating sustainable jobs for the teaming youth population.

  • Obasanjo backs creation of state police, says it will end Nigeria’s security challenge

    Obasanjo backs creation of state police, says it will end Nigeria’s security challenge

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said it will take the creation of state police to tackle the insecurity problem facing the nation.

    Obasanjo said nation building could only be achieved when government was able to guarantee a safe environment for citizens.

    The ex-President spoke on Friday in Lagos during a lecture titled, ‘Social responsibility in nation building,’ which he delivered at the 78th anniversary of Island Club.

    He said, “I have said it before and I will say it again. Nigeria should have state police in all the states so that they can adequately tackle insecurity. Guaranteeing citizens a safe environment and round security is one thing a government must do.

    “No nation can be built where peace, security and stability are not assured or guaranteed and with reasonable predictability of the President and the future not enthroned.”

    Obasanjo also said a government that failed to listen to its citizens was doomed to collapse.

    He added said, “Any government that is deaf, dumb and blind is a government that will not last. As a government, you need to listen to the people. If you fail to listen to the people, the day of reckoning will come for you and it will come soon. We can see it all around us; it has come.

    “You have to realise that there is an element of hazard in life itself. What would make you not talk? Fear? There is a Yoruba proverb that says, ‘You talk, you die; you don’t talk, you’ll still die.’ Death is inevitable. As I am here, I am not afraid of death.

    “It is painful what we are seeing. There are currently over four million out-of-school children in Nigeria. That is a fact. They cannot hide that. No Nigerian should bury their faces because they are scared of death. State the fact; if they want to deny it let them deny it.”

    He urged Nigerians to embrace their diversity and work as one nation towards a common goal of one Nigeria.

    He added, “Diversity is of God; sameness is of the devil. We, as Nigerians, must learn to manage our diversity so that we can have one goal – the Nigerian dream. A nation is not formed until there is a stake and mutual dignity and responsibility and purpose for every component.”

  • Afenifere to FG: Give us state police, restructure Nigeria before 2023

    Afenifere to FG: Give us state police, restructure Nigeria before 2023

    Socio-cultural Yoruba group, Afenifere has asked the Federal Government to immediately approve state police to enable states to protect themselves as acts of terrorism, kidnapping, herders/farmers clashes is crippling Nigeria.

    According to the group, restructuring of the country remains the only way to fix Nigeria, and urged the government to restructure before the general elections in 2023.

    The demands were made by Afenifere in a communique issued at the end of a meeting presided over by its leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo in Sanya-Ogbo, Ijebu Ode.

    It said, “In view of the fact that Nigeria nation is fast moving into the precipice, there is the need by the federal government to urgently put a halt to various acts of terrorism, kidnapping, herders/farmers clashes and the like. This, Government can do, by immediately allowing states to have their own police.

    ” In fact, the security apparatus should be democratised down to the local level. Every community must be at alert to realise that they must defend themselves from bandits who seem to have declared war on Nigeria.”

    “We insist that this restructuring should be done before the next elections in the country.”

    The communique signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi also blasted the influx of foreigners into Nigeria using the tag of ‘commercial motorcycle riders’.

    The group claimed these foreigners have worsened the security situation and called on indigenous communities in the country to be on the alert.

    “Afenifere notes with serious concern the unprecedented security problems accentuated by the influx of people even from outside Nigeria. Some of them are disguising as Okada riders. We call on the government and security agencies to put a halt to the unbridled influx of people with questionable intentions. Terrorism and related vices including kidnapping are now so worrisome that in some cases, our people in places like Yewa, Ogun State, Oke Ogun in Oyo State, etc are forced to be relocating into the Benin Republic and other West African countries. Urgent actions must be taken to guarantee the security of these people and to put a stop to what is causing them agonies.”

     

    “It is a known fact that Afenifere strongly stands by the southern governors in their resolution on anti-grazing laws. We commend the steps taken by the governors of the South-West states on the establishment of security networks like Amotekun. We urge them to continue to forge ahead.”

    “We note with concern the illegal mining activities going on in various parts of our land, especially by non-indigenes. In many cases, the manner of this activity is not only jeopardising the economic and agricultural activities of our people in these areas, the security of the people is also being seriously threatened”, Afenifere said.

  • State Police Bill scales 2nd reading at House of Reps

    State Police Bill scales 2nd reading at House of Reps

    A Bill for an Act to provide for state police in Nigeria, on Tuesday scaled second reading at the House of Representatives.

    Rep. Onofiok Luke (PDP-Akwa-Ibom) who sponsored the bill, said it was aimed at removing the police from exclusive list to concurrent list, towards enhancing security of lives and property in the country.

    He said it would also help to reduce crimes at the grassroots, by complimenting the role of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies in crime control.

    “We have had some security challenges and some states have had to set up state security apparatus to fill in the gap,” Luke said.

    This he said, was due to upsurge in crime following the current security challenges in the country, which appeared to have overwhelmed the police.

    Rep. Tobi Ukechukwu (PDP-Enugu), in his contribution, said creation of state police was germane to the survival of the country.

    “About an hour ago, we observed a minute silence in honour of those killed in Kaduna, children have been taken captive and we have had situation in this country that ordinarily this issue of state police should have been addressed,” he said.

    He said the bill was a patriotic move by the sponsor, stressing that the exclusive list needed to shed weight and this would ensure a well secured country.

    “There is no state that does not run its own vigilance group as at now, but they are lacking the power to bear arms, arrest and prosecute.

    “We cannot be pretending that everything is okay, it is not a joke that schools are closed in Kaduna,” he said.

    Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, put the bill to a voice vote and it unanimously adopted and referred to the House Ad Hoc Committee on the review of 1999 Constitution.

  • Assembly speakers meet in Asaba, decry spate of insecurity, endorse state police

    Assembly speakers meet in Asaba, decry spate of insecurity, endorse state police

    The meeting of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Nigeria has decried the spate of insecurity in the country, while commending the Federal Government’s efforts at tackling the problem.

    This was one of the main resolutions adopted in a communique signed by the Chairman of the Conference, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, and issued at the end of the one-day meeting in Asaba, on Saturday.

    The conference called on major stakeholders to leverage the ongoing review of the Constitution to accommodate the establishment of Community Policing and State Police in the country, to effectively tackle the insecurity bedeviling the country.

    While commending the governors who had commenced the implementation of financial autonomy in their states, the conference urged the other state governors to follow suit, as agreed in the Memorandum of Action signed by all the stakeholders.

    According to the communique, the conference also called on all the state Houses of Assembly to pass the Funds Management Bill, for assent by the governors, within the 45 days window as also agreed to by all stakeholders.

    The conference commended and appreciated the efforts of the Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the Speaker, State House of Assembly, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, for “hosting this meeting to discuss a wide range of issues affecting the nation”, the communique said