A civil society group under the aegis of the Center for Human Rights and Accountability Network has advocated for the establishment of State Police, saying that present security architecture appears unable to cope with rising waves of crime and criminality in the country.
It argued that the introduction of state police into the policing structure of the country would address key security lapses and tackle crimes and crime prevention in Nigeria.
The director of the network in Akwa Ibom State, Otuekong Isong made the call in Uyo while speaking in a television interview on ADBN TV on Thursday.
The advocacy is coming barely a day after President Bola Tinubu addressed the security chiefs and directed them to adopt a new approach towards tackling rising insecurity in the north and some parts of the country.
“The primary purpose of government as stated in Section 14(2)(b) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is to provide welfare and security to the citizens of Nigeria.
“The centre is of the opinion that the current security architecture in Nigeria appeared unable to provide adequate security to lives and properties of Nigerians. The introduction of State Police into the policing structure of the country will go a long way in tackling crimes and crime prevention in Nigeria.” Isong said.
While some Nigerians backed the creation others have opposed the introduction of the state police in the country, emphasizing that it could be manipulated by governors for selfish purposes
But Isong said the legislation establishing the state police could be drafted in a manner that state governors would not manipulate the system for any purpose other than crime prevention and protection of the lives and properties of their citizens.
He stated further that the current situation where governors are addressed as Chief Security Officers of their states, when in reality they do not have full control of the security architecture of their states is an aberration of a federal system of government.
