•Seyi Makinde
As the clamour for state police grows stronger, the Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has faulted 16 governors’ submission of a report on the matter to the National Economic Council (NEC).
On Thursday, NEC confirmed receiving memoranda from 16 governors who expressed their support for establishing state police to address the myriads of security challenges facing the nation, reports Channels TV.
Although the names of the governors were not given, 20 other governors were yet to forward their reports to enable the NEC to act on them.
Barely a day after the announcement, Governor Makinde described the governors’ actions as a waste of time.
“I did not submit any memorandum on state police but my position is very clear about state police. I see it, quite frankly, as a waste of our time,” he said yesterday.
“I did not submit not because of arrogance but because I don’t think the approach will quickly get us to where we want to go. You are asking the states to submit memoranda on how state police will work.”
They Know What To Do
Makinde said the issue of the state police can best be handled by the National Assembly and not the National Economic Council or the National Security Adviser.
He argued that the issue must pass through the parliament since it is a constitutional matter before being replicated at the state houses of assembly.
“The National Assembly, they know what to do. They have people that can quickly do this work. It is not the National Security Adviser or the National Economic Council that will deal with the issue of state police.
“It is a constitutional thing and should go to the National Assembly and then at the state level, we get our state houses of assembly to pass this law,” the governor said.
Quest For State Police
The clamour for state police has been an age-long issue in Nigeria. But the worsening state of security in the country has heightened such calls.
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had on February 12 restated their position on state policing, as the solution to the country’s worsening security situation, lamenting that Nigeria is “almost on the road to Venezuela”.
Also, regional socio-political groups such as Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Middle Belt Forum, and the Northern Elders’ Forum, have repeatedly called for state police as a solution to the myriad of increasing security challenges confronting the nation.
Already, states in the South-West geopolitical zone have formed the Amotekun while their counterparts in the South-East also created a security outfit Ebube Agu. The Benue Guards has also been operational in Benue State in the North Central while states like Katsina, Zamfara, and other bandit-prone sub-nationals have also come up with similar state-established outfits.
However, these outfits have not been as effective as anticipated as they do not have the backing of the federal government. States continue to demand that Amotekun, Ebube Agu, and others be granted license to bear assault rifles like AK-47s to confront lethal gun-toting marauders.
