Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo State, urged the federal government to reconsider the need for state police in Nigeria on Thursday.
When Yunnus Mohammed Akeera, the new Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 17, visited him at the Governor’s House in Akure, Akeredolu, who made the call, said Nigeria urgently needed a realistic strategy to address the escalating insecurity across the nation.
He claimed that the current police system was insufficient to protect Nigerians’ lives.
The governor has consistently advocated the creation of a state police as the best way to address the problems facing the nation.
His most recent call was made just 48 hours after ISWAP fighters raided the Kuje jail centre and released hundreds of prisoners from the prison.
Akeredolu said: “As you know, Zone 17 is probably one of the newest. When the zone was created the state government had to shoulder a lot of responsibilities. When we got you a location, we had to renovate it.
“We do not run away from the fact that the police is overstretched. The same thing, we do not run away from the fact that a single police command in Abuja will not be adequate to police the large populace of the country. This has led to our demand for state police.
“We can complement each other. I have had senior police officers who agree with the state police. Maybe they can’t say it in the public. Go to Ekiti and even here in Ondo State, most of the police stations have no vehicle. Look at the unfortunate incident that happened in Owo, police said they had no vehicle to pursue the perpetrators.
“Let us all sit down and agree that we should have a system that will create a division of labour. We can have the federal police and then, the state police. You can face up major tasks like intelligence gathering and pass it to the state police to work on.
“What is happening, if not for lack of intelligence people will not go to Kuje and attack the place in Abuja. We need your cooperation too in this our cry for a dual police System that we can work together.”
