President Bola Tinubu has said the establishment of state police is unavoidable, as part of efforts to strengthen security across the country.
The President’s declaration came as Northern elders yesterday urged him to declare a state of emergency in the North, following protracted insecurity that has devastated the socio-economic life and development of the region.
It came on a day president of Mzough U Tiv UK (MUTUK), Victor Aleva, also said nothing had changed in Yelewata since President Tinubu visited Benue State, in the wake of the deadly herdsmen’s attack on the community which claimed over 200 lives in June.
This is even as Senator Ali Ndume said Boko Haram terrorists are blind to faith as they target Christians, Muslims as well as those who don’t believe in either of the two.
The President’s declaration drew the excitement of stakeholders in the polity, especially regional socio-political and cultural groups which have been in the forefront in the call for state police in the country.
They include the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere; its counterpart in the north, the ArewaConsultative Forum, ACF; and Middle Belt Forum, MBF.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during a courtesy visit by a delegation of prominent Katsina indigenes, led by Governor Dikko Radda, late Tuesday, Tinubu said the Federal Government is committed to confronting insecurity head-on.
The President reiterated the declaration when he met with governors of the North-East yesterday, stressing that there is need to discuss with the National Assembly leadership on the issue.
He directed security agencies to reassess their operations in Katsina State, which has witnessed a spike in banditry, and disclosed that advanced military equipment and surveillance technology would be deployed.
While also revealing plans to enhance the capacity of newly-recruited forest guards in the state, Tinubu stressed that while the country faces serious security challenges, they can be resolved with determination and strategy.
He said: “The security challenges that we are facing are surmountable. Yes, we have porous borders. We inherited weaknesses that could have been addressed earlier. It is a challenge that we must fix, and we are facing it.
“I have directed all the security agencies to energise further and look at the strategies. We have approved additional acquisition of drones.”
The president further instructed that he be given daily updates on security operations in Katsina, saying:
“I am reviewing all the aspects of security; I have to create state police. We are looking at that holistically.
“We will defeat insecurity. We must protect our children, our people, our livelihood, our places of worship, and our recreational spaces. They can’t intimidate us.”
Tinubu reminded the delegation that in February 2024, the Federal Government formed a committee to study the framework for state policing.
The president also paid tribute to former President Muhammadu Buhari, assuring that his legacy will be preserved.
“The time we lost our brother, President Buhari, is a loss for all of us. It is the will of God Almighty, but he has left in a good way.
“He didn’t hand over a defeated country, a battered political structure, but a legacy of success, and that is the most important thing,’’ the President said.
In his remarks, leader of the delegation, Governor Radda expressed gratitude to Tinubu for his consistent support.
“Mr President, I would like to thank you very much, and I want to say before our elders that there was never a time I came to the President with a request that he rejected,” Radda said.
Other speakers, including former Governor Aminu Masari and Ibrahim Ida, the Wazirin Katsina, commended Tinubu for honouring Buhari and investing in infrastructure projects in the state.
Ida, however, urged the Federal Government to prioritise the upgrade of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport and intensify security in Southern Katsina.
Recall that following the rising waves of insecurity across the country, a host of stakeholders have been calling for state police.
Last May, in a new consensus, the Northern Governors Forum, NGF, endorsed the creation of state police as a major step to fight insecurity in the country.
In a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Kaduna, Forum Chairman and governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya, noted that the current centralised policing system is grossly incapable of confronting the scale and complexity of local security threats, particularly in the Northern region.
The Forum then called on the National Assembly “to expedite action on the enactment of the legal framework for its take-off.”
Similar calls have also been made by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, House of Assembly speakers in the 36 states of the federation and other stakeholders.
State Police overdue —Afenifere
Reacting to the President’s remarks yesterday, the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said the need for state police was long overdue.
Speaking on behalf of Afenifere, the Chairman of its National Executive Committee, NEC, Oba Olu Falae, commended the move, adding that there is need to implement it as soon as possible.
Falae, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who spoke with Vanguard, said: “State Police is something we should have had 50 years ago. Policing is a local matter and, therefore, until you have local policing, we won’t have effective policing in our country.
“In the colonial times, every region and town had its own police force. There were three policing systems in Nigeria. That we are now returning to state police is welcome and I hope the states will take decisions to recruit people immediately, train and equip them for an effective security mechanism in the states and in the country. It is overdue.”
We’re looking forward to seeing it work — ACF
On his part, the National Publicity Secretary of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Prof Tukur Baba, said the ACF is looking forward to see how it would work.
Step in the right direction — MBF
Also reacting, the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, said President Tinubu’s declaration to create was a step in the right direction.
Vanguard