President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that forming state police is not an option for alleviating the insecurity that has gripped several sections of Nigeria.
He revealed this during a Channels television interview on Wednesday.
Various stakeholders had advocated for the establishment of State Police as a means of combating insecurity across the country on numerous occasions.
Nonetheless, President Buhari said that he was turned down because of the possibility of abuse by state governors.
He said, “State police is not an option. Find out the relationship between local government and the Governors. Are the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally? Are they getting it? Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the fight between local governments and the Governor.”
Incorporating traditional rulers into the policing and security value chain, the President also urged for a holistic strategy to crime-fighting.
“The role of traditional rulers must not be undermined, because in their areas they know who is who, even by families, not to even talk of individuals.
“So, we have to revert to that system for us to have effective security in the localities.
“For example, there were two Governors that came to see me about problems – Oyo state and one other state – because the herders were in their forests but the animals were going into the neighbouring farms, and eating the crops; I said, as far as I know, the farmers and herders have been co-existing in Nigeria for generations. Let them go and ask the local leadership what has gone wrong, why the break in communication between the local leadership and the herders,” Buhari said.
