Governors support creation of state police

The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) says the creation of state police will assist in tackling the high rate of insecurity in the country.

Speaking on Monday at the end of the national summit on security organised by the senate, Abdulaziz Yari, chairman of the NGF, said the country could not be policed effectively from Abuja.

His statement comes three days after Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said state police is “the way to go”.

“Today we have reiterated the position of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. And the position of the security summit we held in August, that there is a need for the state police; we can say it is the only answer,” Yari said.

“We cannot realistically police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. State police and other community policing methods are clearly the way to go.

“There are about 4 million people in Zamfara and we have fewer than 5000 policemen. We in government agree that we can find a way through which we can fine tune the issue of state police.”

The Zamfara governor said all the states may not have except those that can afford.

“It is not all the states that are supposed to have the state police, those that could should be able to have it,” he said.

“It is something we cannot take off at the same time. We were created differently. Many challenges of Nigerians for the past ten years ranging from Boko Haram, cattle rustlers, armed banditry, and militancy in the Niger Delta are dwindling the Nigerian economy, and threatening the unity of the nation.”