The southern governors on Monday, 25 June said having state police will give them more control over security decisions in their states. They believe locals are better placed to fight crime because they understand the terrain and language. The state helmsmen met under the Southern Governors Forum (SGF) in Abeokuta.
The chairman of the governor Dapo Abiodun, who featured on national television yesterday evening, said the 17 Southern governors were united in their call for state police. Abiodun said: “We all spoke with one voice in support of state policing. We spoke with one voice in support of regional security outfits which almost all regions have been set up. The outfits are working hand in glove with the law enforcement agencies and providing them with intelligence and support. We all know that we cannot have any meaningful development in an atmosphere of insecurity. The governors are called state chief security officers. But we know that the Commissioner of Police is appointed by the Inspector General of Police and is only answerable to the IG. And when the governor needs to call the attention of the CP on an urgent task in his state, the governor will have to first clear with the IG”.
The governor added further saying “What have we discovered? In most cases, a policeman from Borno, Maiduguri, posted to Lagos or Ogun states, for instance doesn’t understand the terrain, he doesn’t speak the language and he does not get the level of intelligence he needs. By the time he is settling down to understand these factors, he is transferred to another state. We’re calling for community police to tame insecurity in the state and the nation. Under the state police arrangement, a policeman posted to his ward won’t have problems with language and intelligence. In that case, the policeman understands the community and the locals, language, the sentiments and, he knows the criminals within his territory.”
