Nigeria Needs State Police Urgently, Says Sen. Uba Sani

The lawmaker representing Kaduna Central, Uba Sani, has insisted on state policing as the solution to Nigeria’s security challenges, saying the current security structure is “too weak”.

Speaking while featuring on Arise Television, ‘Morning Show’ on Thursday, the lawmaker emphasised the urgency of creating state police and decentralizing the police system.

He said the federating units should be allowed to constitute their own state policing structure for a thorough and internal fight against insecurity.

“The way the security agencies are today, I don’t think we can be able to fight the issue of banditry and terrorism in our country,” he said during the interview monitored by THE WHISTLER.

The lawmaker has been at the forefront of the review of the Nigeria Constitution which he described on several occasions as “obsolete”, seeking among other provisions, to establish a State Police Force in the 36 states of the Federation.

In a bill titled: ‘Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Alteration) Bill 2020 (SB. 550)’, which he sponsored, he seeks to change the name of the Police Service Commission to the Federal Police Service Commission, establish the State Police Service Commission and amend the Second and Third Schedules of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

Speaking further during the interview, Sani addressed the fears of some Nigerians on state police. He described conjectures of future abuse by the state governors as “assumptions” and its sponsors, enemies of restructuring the nation.

“In this country, we have come a long way where we accept that things have to change. I don’t believe the state governors will abuse the issue of state police. It is just an opinion by some people who don’t believe in change.

“The condition and the requirement for anybody to join state police will be the same thing with the requirement to join a federal police force, so why is it that you are not complaining about the federal government abusing the Federal Police Force?

“Because as I am talking to you now, most of the state commissioners are been controlled and funded by the state governors, and I don’t believe that there is any state police commissioner in this country that is not been funded by the state governor. The only difference is that they take their orders from the Inspector General of Police.

“I believe what we are providing in our amendment in the bill… we are making sure that the condition for you to join state police will be the same condition, requirement and process to join the federal police. Secondly, We also have a provision that in case of any abuse of those powers the federal force can override the state police in our bill,” he said.

The senator who is a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), party, however, believes that anyone in the National Assembly who opposes creation of state police, certainly “do not understand the essence and reason why we need it this very urgently”.

Sani also said lawmakers and other Nigerians must quit pointing accusing fingers but help the security agencies fight the menace of banditry and terrorism in the society.