APPARENTLY responding to the growing calls for restructuring in the country of which the demand for State Police is a key part, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has set up a committee to look into modalities for its possible implementation in the country.
Rising from a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday night, the Chairman of the forum and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, told State House correspondents that the committee has representatives from the six geo-political zones of the country.
He said the committee has been saddled with the responsibility of providing ways to better the place of police in the country in order to adequately deal with rising insecurity in the nation and attendant loss of lives.
The meeting was attended by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, who briefed the state chief executives throughout the duration of the nearly four hours meeting.
Governor Yari said: “We discussed and we received presentation from the Inspector General of Police. He made a presentation to us canvassing for support to introduce media outfits; radio and television for the force and as well as for the Police to embrace technology instead of the manual ways of doing things.
“The Inspector General of Police dominated the whole of our discussion today,” he said, adding that there was the need for a proper ratio of policemen to citizens’ population as it obtains in other countries.
The NGF also noted the funding difficulties of the police which has hampered its effectiveness.
According to him: “They (police) are having so many difficulties in funding which we have agreed that with the way things are going through the budgeting process, we can’t be able to fund police.
“So, the Inspector General of Police made us to know that there is a kind of Trust Fund Bill which is before the National Assembly and asked for our support and that of the members of the National Assembly, especially the House of Representatives.
“On our own part, we have put a committee in place. It is headed by the governor of Kwara, with governors of Imo, Delta, Ekiti, Bauchi and Sokoto, as members to lead the committee so that they can be able to interface with the committee of Police and take the matter before the Acting President for further action. It is important for our nation.”
Yari noted that there were several options on the idea of State Police which the committee will look into.
“There is the issue of the kind of state police which is being discussed and we coming with so many options which we are expecting the committee will consider find a safe way of policing in Nigeria,” he said.
He also said that the IGP requested for permission for the establishment of media outfits including radio and television for the Police Force.
In his own remarks, the IGP, who also spoke to reporters after the meeting, said that security challenges in the country dominated the discussions at the meeting.
He said: “It centered on our efforts to address some of the challenges in the Police unit. We had a fruitful discussions with them and obviously all of them are concerned about security in some parts of the country, virtually in all parts of the country.
“They are ready to support the Police Force to see how we can address some of the challenges.”
Idris remarked that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s directive for the stepping up of security presence in troubled areas following renewed killings in Kaduna State was normal.
He added: “Obviously it is a normal procedure. When we have challenges we normally reinforce.
“Having insecurity all over the country requires the participation of every citizen of this country. We have to put our heads together to address all the security challenges.”
According to him, the security challenges in Kaduna State will take time to overcome and will require the cooperation of all.
“The governor is doing well. He is trying to bring communities closer and I think it takes a long time. But by and large, with the cooperation of community members and all the security agencies, who have met to synergize, it will be resolved.”
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