Southern governors opens up on real reason for state police in Nigeria

• The Southern Governors Forum (SGF) has explained the reason for insisting on the creation of state police
• Governor Dapo Abiodun said under the state police arrangement, a policeman will be posted to his neighbourhood
• Abiodun said there is a need for state police also because the Nigeria Police Force has a shortage of manpower

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro and government policy

Abeokuta, Ogun state - The Southern Governors Forum (SGF) said it is insisting on state police because they believe locals are better placed to fight crime.

The chairman of the forum, Dapo Abiodun, said state police are needed because locals understand the terrain and language.

Abiodun says state police is needed because locals understand the terrain and language. Photo credit: @DapoAbiodunCON
Source: Twitter

Abiodun said the 17 Southern governors spoke with one voice in support of state policing, The Nation reports.

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The Ogun state governor said almost all regions have set up regional security outfits and they are working hand in glove with the law enforcement agencies.

According to OGTV, Dapo further stated that the southern governors are calling for community police to tame insecurity in the nation.

“Under the state police arrangement, a policeman posted to his ward won’t have problems with language and intelligence.“In that case, the policeman understands the community and the locals, language, the sentiments and, he knows the criminals within his territory.“It is also common knowledge that the federal police have a shortage of manpower.“We, as governors, are not in charge or control of our states as far as security is concerned.“Yet, we fund the federal police operations, yet we are not getting the best from them. They don’t have enough personnel. “State policing is not something new. We have several types of policing structure in other climes where we took our democracy from.”

"Nigeria not ripe for state police," says IGP Egbetokun

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, at the moment, state governments do not have the financial wherewithal to create a police force that will meet national standards.

IGP Egbetokun also opined that creating state police will bring about divided loyalty apart from the claim that some governors will use the police in their domains for political interests.

However, Dr Abubakar Sani, a security expert, disagreed with the IGP, saying he strongly believes that only the federal police is incapable of properly policing the country.

Source: Legit.ng