Insecurity: NASS to enact legal framework backing state police

The National Assembly has proposed the enactment of a legal framework to back the establishment of state police in the wake of escalating insecurity across the country.

The member representing Ika/Atim Ekpo/ Abak Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr Clement Jimbo, disclosed during an interview with newsmen in Uyo on Tuesday.

Jimbo stressed that the current security challenges facing the nation necessitate a more localised approach to law enforcement, adding that with the present situation, the nation needs state policing.

“We (the National Assembly) have looked at the current security composition of Nigeria, where the Nigeria Police Force has the responsibility of checking our internal security.

“Since Nigeria, to the best of my knowledge, does not have any external aggression, what we are still experiencing as insecurity is within our borders, which is the responsibility of the police.

“We’ve also looked at the history of policing in Nigeria, dating back to 1939 when we had the Northern Police Force and the Southern Police Force.

“We’ve seen the different states; in Akwa Ibom State, we have the Ibom Community Watch. If they are armed, they can become an effective complement to the Nigeria Police. In the North, we have many such outfits, and in the West, we have Amotekun,” Jimbo added.

The lawmaker stated that what the state security outfits lack is a legal framework, adding that the national assembly has proposed to enshrine state policing in the constitution.

“We’ve come to terms with the fact that recruiting someone from Sokoto and transferring them to Bayelsa, a riverine area, is a recipe for failure. The person won’t know the culture or the terrain.

“No matter how good the person is at policing a terrestrial land, bringing them to an aquatic land will render their efforts useless. We said, ‘No, it cannot work, and it won’t work.’

“Instead, let’s recruit able-bodied men within a geographical area of a state to police that area. For instance, in my local government area of Abak, some villages and streets aren’t numbered, and there are ways we describe those locations.

“If you bring someone from Kano who doesn’t know how to pronounce ‘Use Ikot Amama’ or other places, it makes it difficult for such a person to describe any location of a crime.

“So, that’s what the National Assembly is doing, and it’s receiving robust support from the President Tinubu administration.”

He commended President Tinubu for proactively engaging with the 36 governors, securing their buy-in and collective agreement that Nigeria is, indeed, ready for state policing.

“The President has deemed it necessary to interface with the 36 governors and has given them his commitment. The governors have also bought into the commitment, and all of them have come to terms and agreement that indeed Nigeria is ripe for state policing.”

The lawmaker called on the security agencies to live up to their responsibility by nipping insecurity in the bud, adding that the president has done incredibly well by increasing the defence budget to help combat insecurity.