Victor EzejaPresident Muhammadu Buhari has stated that establishing state police in Nigeria was not the best option for tackling the security crisis currently ravaging different parts of the country.
Buhari who made the assertion during an interview with Channel Television on Wednesday morning, based his argument on the propensity of state governors to abuse their powers and use the police institution arbitrarily.
This is coming up a day after the encounter of Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu with a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) who defied the order of the governor to vacate the premises of Magodo Phase II Estate in Lagos.
Some people who may have been favoured by a Supreme Court judgement on the Magodo Estate land dispute, got some police officers numbering about 50 outside the Lagos State Police Command who came to assist them invade the premises and claim possession of some properties, making the residents embark on protest.
The governor, as the chief security officer of the state, wanted the police officers out of the area, but the CSP who led the team insisted that they were acting on instruction from the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The incident has attracted reaction of different groups like the Southwest Governors Forum who condemned the act of the officer, describing it as “very disconcerting” and amounting to utter disrespect of the authority of the governor.
READ ALSO: Magodo Dispute: Southwest Governors Condemn Police Officer’s Refusal To Obey Sanwo-Olu
The Incident has resurrected the debate about the creation of state police in Nigeria so that each state government can have direct control of the security apparatus, rather than waiting for approval from the federal authority as is currently obtainable.
There have been calls for state policing by several Governors and other stakeholders as a way to solve insecurity across the country.
President Buhari during the Channel Tv interview said, “State police is not an option.” To further prove his point, he commented on the relationship between state governors and local government council executives saying, “Find out the relationship between local government and the Governors. Are the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally? Are they getting it? Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the fight between local governments and the Governor.”
He stated that in finding a lasting solution to the issue of insecurity, the governors and traditional rulers need to play a very significant role in building peace in communities.
“The role of traditional rulers must not be undermined, because in their areas they know who is who, even by families, not to even talk of individuals. So, we have to revert to that system for us to have effective security in the localities,” the president stated.
On the farmer-herder crisis, the president stressed the need for deeper dialogue between the lcoal leaders and the herders to always understand what is gooingon and be able to forestall any crisis.
“There were two Governors that came to see me about problems – Oyo state and one other state – because the herders were in their forests but the animals were going into the neighbouring farms and eating the crops. I said, as far as I know, the farmers and herders have been co-existing in Nigeria for generations. Let them go and ask the local leadership what has gone wrong, why the break in communication between the local leadership and the herders,” stated during the interview.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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