Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Kayode Egbetokun has said that Nigeria is not yet mature for State Police.
Egbetokun stated this on Monday at a national dialogue on state police organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja.
The IGP who was represented by AIG Ben Okolo, at the national dialogue said it is the submission of the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force that the country is not yet matured and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police.
However, differing with the position of the IGP on Monday at the ongoing dialogue on state police organized by the House of Representatives, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, who was President of Nigeria from 2010-2015 described state police as a non-negotiable entity that Nigeria must establish.
Jonathan said the conversation must shift to the prevention of abuse by governors noting that most times governors abuse institutions the challenges are not sufficient to stop the creation of state police.
“We can only end kidnapping and other forms of insecurity through the creation of state police,” Jonathan said.
The proposal for State Police is part of the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution by the 10th National Assembly (NASS).
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen on January 30, 2024, during the first plenary of the House in the year, announced plans to convoke a national conference on security.
Consequently, the House, on February 20, 2024, passed for second reading, a bill seeking to create police structures in each of the States of the federation.
The Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Rep. Benjamin Okezie Kalu and 14 others had sponsored the bill seeking to alter the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution to empower the States to establish their policing outfits.
On February 26, 2024, Speaker Abbas, at the inauguration of the House Special Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, noted that state policing was part of the Legislative Agenda of the 10th House.
The dialogue is holding with the theme: ‘Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria.’
Credit: THENEWSGURU/DAILY POST
