A former Deputy National Chairman, South-West, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has emphasised the need for state police to help in the fight against insecurity in the country.
George, who was a guest on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, strongly believes that the introduction of state police will reduce the spike in insurgency.
“The constitutional conference committee under former president Jonathan stated that the need to have state police cannot be futuristic, it is so urgent,” George said.
“You know, when you go to war, you have a defined enemy, but in this case, it is an insurgency, insecurity within. You don’t know who is who, they can come out in the day and pretend to be part of one area but in the night they turn out to be something else.
“So, what you need will be people within their community to police them. They know themselves, they know the do’s and don’ts of that culture, and they know the rules of the people in that culture.
“So, they would be better off to be able to manage any issues within their communities. For God’s sake, we need the state police.”
The calls for state police have made headlines in recent years with the escalation of insecurity in the country. Political and religious leaders have at different fora drummed up support for state police.
While reacting to these calls, President Bola Tinubu and governors of the 36 states in mid-February agreed on state police as a way to curb the escalating security challenges in Nigeria.
About a month later, 16 governors submitted their reports to the National Economic Council (NEC), expressing their support for the creation of state police and the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to allow for the same. The decision of the remaining 20 governors is still being expected.