The Labour Party (LP) has thrown its weight behind calls for the establishment of state police in response to the prevailing security challenges in the country.
The national chairman of LP, Mike Omotosho, said this in a statement on Sunday.
Omotosho stated that the police, as a federal body, are not effective in its duties because Nigeria is too large for its security issues to be managed from one central point alone.
He said, “My take on this, therefore, would be to decentralise control of the Nigerian Police Force so that the states can have some level of command and Influence especially when rapid response is required,” Omotosho posited.
“All power should not be wielded by the Inspector General of Police. I know that some are skeptical of this state policing policy as it may one day warrant people to start clamoring for LG police or even ward police.
‘’Such clamour can be tackled immediately from the onset by allowing for locals to operate as sources of intelligence or intelligence personnel as the case may be.
“We must ensure that the state police does not further divide us as nation because a Yoruba person should be able to serve in Enugu while an Igbo person should be able to serve in Zamfara without any fear.”
He emphasised that, “As with any other case, if the whole state policing thing is not handled properly, it would only result in bigger problems”.
The chairman stressed that state government was a complete government on its own with powers to make and enforce laws that soothe it as well as punish offenders, which would serve as deterrent.
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