[
Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, Salihu Lukman has thrown his weight behind state police in the country, Njenje Media News reports.
According to him, although serious challenges still exist, and there is still a long way to go in restoring a robust sense of security in the country, it is important to continually acknowledge the victories and successes being recorded by the military and law enforcement agencies, in the various theatres of operation across the country.
In a press statement issued in Abuja, Mr Lukman pointed that the APC administration is taking steps to equip the security agencies and build morale, promote community-led solutions, develop new security infrastructure and operations across land and maritime environments, and address the underlying drivers of insecurity such as poverty and youth unemployment, encouraging reports are emerging from the various theatres of operation.
He believes measures to address insecurity can be solidified and the government can do more especially in relation to getting security agencies to be more accountable in terms of equipment.
Considering the current security structure in the country, He says there’s needs for radically reformed architecture, Issues of amending the laws to enable state governments establish state police are now necessary more than ever.
There are conditions that must be met before any decision to establish state police can serve as a good response to Nigeria’s security challenges.
They include; the requirement that processes of regulating the operations of the state police should be centralised as part of the functions of the Federal Police,.
Under which issues of recruitment, qualification, background checks for those to be recruited, enforcement of disciplinary requirement, arms procurement and training for weapon handling should be handled at Federal level so that there are uniform standards across the country.
Salihu Lukman is of the opinion that outside regulations, there are issues of funding, and Most time, Nigerians make proposals in terms of how government should address challenges with the assumption that funding is given, which in turn means that government can always mobilise the resources.
To address Nigerian security challenges, especially if the establishment of state police is to be considered, there must be a new funding arrangement, which should insulate the operations of Nigeria Police including the new state police to be established from all the uncertainties surrounding public financial management.
