Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Sunday Ehindero, has expressed his support for the establishment of state police in Nigeria, News About Nigeria reports.
He disclosed this in a paper titled “It is time for state police in Nigeria.”
While acknowledging that the issue of the establishment of state police remains a national issue of public interest, Ehindero noted that it is necessary as there remains a need to control crimes in the country.
He pointed out that most crimes being committed are local crimes, adding that this buttresses the fact that local police will be instrumental in curbing such crimes.
He opined that while crimes such as terrorism, trafficking in drugs and human persons, money laundering, kidnappings, and other crimes are national, local government security personnel have been used to fight them.
“First, the need to control crimes. It has consistently been argued that policing is essentially a local affair, and as most crimes are local, we need a local police force. We all know that most crimes are not local.
“Crimes such as terrorism, trafficking in drugs and human persons, money laundering, kidnappings, armed robbery, and herdsmen/farmers’ clashes are not local. They are national, international, and trans-border crimes,” he stated.
Ehindero also expressed some reservations about the establishment of state police.
He said that, according to past experiences, state police were used to circumvent democratic processes.
He added that they were used and manipulated by politicians to intimidate, prosecute, and suppress perceived political opponents.
He maintained that the Police Force is too expensive to become the responsibilities of State Governments, stressing that asides Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Ogun and some few states, others are unable to pay salaries of workers.
