The Lagos State House of Assembly has adopted a resolution urging the National Assembly to promptly initiate a constitutional amendment facilitating the establishment of state police, citing escalating kidnapping incidents and other security challenges in Nigeria.
During a plenary session chaired by Speaker Mr. Mudashiru Obasa on Monday, the House additionally advocated for the effective outfitting of the Neighbourhood Safety Corps to bolster support for existing security agencies in Lagos State.
- Expressing worry about the prevailing insecurity nationwide, Obasa, addressing the issue as a ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’, commented, “At the weekend, we heard of the attack on a commercial bus and the passengers abducted.”
Drawing attention to a recent kidnapping incident in the Ikorodu, Obasa underscored the persistent advocacy by the House for the implementation of state police, stressing the strain on the country’s security apparatus.
- “This time around, the National Assembly should be our focus. They don’t have to wait till the twilight of their tenure to start a constitutional amendment.
- “This administration is at the beginning of its four years. So the National Assembly should begin the amendment now and we should be part of it to put an end to the issue of state police,” the Speaker emphasized.
More insight
The Speaker allayed concerns about the potential misuse of state police powers by governors, emphasizing the need for legislation to prevent abuse.
Obasa urged the state government to allocate a specific percentage of the Security Trust Fund towards strengthening the local security corps.
He also underscored the importance of addressing underlying factors contributing to insecurity through effective youth engagement strategies, such as sports programs.
- “We must consider factors that lead to insecurity. Poverty – in this period of rising inflation – we can continue bringing relief to our people. Sports has been a very effective tool to take our youth away from crime,” he said.
- Adding to the discussion, Mr. Aro Moshood (APC – Ikorodu Constituency II) recounted a distressing narrative of the recent kidnapping incident in Igbogbo Bayeku, Ijede Local Council Development Area. Moshood urged the government to bolster security surveillance in the area.
- Ajayi Oladele (APC – Ibeju-Lekki II), echoing Moshood’s sentiments, emphasized the necessity for proactive government measures, highlighting the influx of individuals into Lagos without adequate accommodation arrangements.
State police sounds good on paper, but in teleport it needs careful examination before implementation – a situation where we have one person (the state governor) appointing judges, running jails / prisons, appointing the state AG and now we want to allow same person to appoint and control state police is a disaster waiting to happen – and mind you this same governor is immune from prosecution – so he/she can’t be queried or questioned in any way. And these governors are already monsters – giving them more unchecked power is not the way to go.
For us to have state police, the governor can’t & shouldn’t have the power to hire or fire anyone in the state police or in the same constitutional amendment we should strip governors of the immunity they have – so as to keep them honest and allow checks and balances.
Also – remove the power of the governor to appoint state AG & nominate state judges – we can’t have one person with so much unchecked power.
One can only imagine a state police in Lagos constituted by MC Oluomo’s boys….smh
Or where the state police has to intervene in the recurring Yoruba-Hausa hostilities in Mile 2. Nigeria is NOT America (or any other “United” states or nation). In the US, someone from Arkansas can be one a policeman (or even a senator) in NY, and someone originally from Texas can become governor of Florida. In Nigeria, so-called “state police” are likely to merely become TRIBAL militias (with bickering over quota system and zoning of leadership in multi-ethnic states), and if that happens, heaven help us all.