IGP Egbetokun’s views on the creation of State Police contradict the views of former President Jonathan.
The Inspector of General of Police, IGP Olukayode Egbetokun has proposed integrating the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) as a Department under the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) rather than establishing a State Police structure.
Egbetokun made these comments during his address at the National Dialogue on State Policing, hosted by the House of Representatives in partnership with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) in Abuja on Monday.
In defending his reasons, he said that the yearly police recruitment should be increased by at least 30,000 to meet the United Nations (UN) ratio and called for increased budgetary allocations to the Police for effective training of personnel in modern policing.
Egbetokun noted that if State Police is established, governors will use the structure under their control for political or personal gains undermining human rights and security, adding that creating state police at the moment will amplify ethnic tension in the country adding that the agitations for state police were informed by the perception that Police were not meeting up to their responsibility.
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He highlighted some of the challenges as inadequate manpower, inadequate operational equipment; arms and ammunition, surveillance equipment, inadequate training due to poor funding as well as inadequate office and barracks accommodations.
“Most police stations and barracks that were built over the years in the colonial period have not undergone any renovations despite the increase in the strength of the Force. These have impacted negatively on the performance of the personnel,” he stated.
In the same vein, the Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Geidam, observed that while State Police was essential for local security, it has the potential for political interference and human rights abuse.
He said: “Establishment of state police is not without its demerits; one of them is political interference. Oversight and accountability are paramount and must be put in place to ensure that interference is reduced. An implementation roadmap is essential for successful operation.”
However, Egbetokun’s stance contradicts the position of former president Goodluck Jonathan who said that State Police is a non-negotiable entity that Nigeria must establish saying governors indeed abuse institutions but the challenges are not sufficient to stop the creation of state police.
He revealed that State Police was widely accepted by the delegates at the 2014 Confab declaring that “We can only end kidnapping and other forms of insecurity through the creation of state police.”
Leah Twaki
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