The Lagos State House of Assembly has vehemently opposed the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun’s, assertion that Nigeria is not yet ready for the establishment of state police.
This stance was made clear through a letter written to the IGP and the National Assembly, as directed by the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa.
The IGP’s position, expressed at a recent one-day dialogue on state policing, themed “Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria”, was met with strong disapproval from the lawmakers.
Egbetokun had argued that the creation of state police would lead to increased ethnic tension and divided loyalty among states in the federation.
He instead suggested merging the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) with the police force.
However, Speaker Obasa countered the IGP’s argument, pointing out that the FRSC and NSCDC have failed to effectively address the problems of road accidents and pipeline vandalism respectively.
He questioned how merging these agencies with the police force would improve their effectiveness in tackling these issues.
“In Lagos State, we have the Security Trust Fund through which successive administrations starting from that of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu have provided enormous support to the police command in Lagos State. Yet, crime of different dimensions has continued.
“This shows that no matter what Egbetokun has proffered as solution, such won’t solve our problem. The position of the IGP is unacceptable.
“We strongly believe that if we have state police, we would be able to solve the issues of crime in our nation or reduce it to the minimum.
“As we have seen in other climes, the United Kingdom has different levels of policing just like the United States of America. So why should ours be different?
“The lives of our people are very important and we must do everything possible to make sure we protect lives and property. We want to state categorically that we believe in state police and we want to urge the National Assembly to continue with its intendment to establish state police through the process of constitutional amendment,” Obasa said while praising President Tinubu for his resolve to end insecurity in the country.
Commending the Speaker for his stand on the issue of state police, the lawmaker representing Badagry Constituency 1, argued that with its current structure, it would be difficult for the Nigeria Police Force to effectively secure the country.
Also declaring his support for state police, another lawmaker, Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh (Ajeromi/Ifelodun 1), said each Nigerian state currently has a local security outfit in the semblance of state police.
“Today, which state does not have state police one way or the other? This is a cause that should be supported. For the IG to come out and say state police is not in the interest of Nigeria shows he is not considering the reality of insecurity on Nigerians,” he said.
