The Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, has requested that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) recall the security personnel assigned to lawmakers in the National Assembly as well as those assigned to politicians across the nation.
Ndume stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
He said, “I support that they should take away all their police (officer).
“One Senator will be going around with 10 policemen, seven, members of House of Reps, everybody. That is for those who are mobile. Some even give security to their wives, others give security to their children. I am against that.”
According to Ndume, Nigeria, with about 300,000 policemen, does not have enough to police the country, hence, orderlies of Very Important Personalities should be withdrawn to protect the people.
“Let’s have like 2 million police, 500K soldiers,” he said.
He appealed to President Bola Tinubu to grant security agencies unrestricted support, providing them with ample funding and necessary weaponry to combat the threats of banditry, kidnapping, and insurgency.
Ndume emphasized the need for the President to authorize the expansion of police manpower to two million officers and military personnel to 500,000.
Nevertheless, the Senator representing Borno South Senatorial District stated his opposition to the concept of state police, asserting that it could be misused by governors. He clarified that he would not support state police if it were to be proposed during the constitution amendment process.