Tsav says state police’ll bring anarchy as Governors renew bid

The Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, has constituted a six-man
committee of its members to explore funding options for policing
the country, with a mandate to also explore prospects for
introducing state police in the country.

The committee comprises the governors of Kwara, Imo, Delta,
Ekiti, Bauchi and Sokoto states.

The governors reached the decision late Wednesday night, after
consultations with the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim
Idris, in a meeting of the NGF at the Presidential Villa.

The decision followed ventilations of  difficulties faced
by the Police, including  stagnation of the Police Trust Fund
Bill in the National Assembly. The Police boss asked the governors
to facilitate its passage by persuading their delegations to the
National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the call for state police was, yesterday, flayed by
former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav,
who said state police will turn into a weapon of intimidation by
governors.

NGF Chairman, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, who spoke with State House
Correspondents at the end of the late night meeting, said the NGF
will articulate issues raised by the Police boss to the Acting
President, with a view to addressing problems faced by the
Police.

He said:  “We discussed, and we received a presentation
from the Inspector-General of Police. He made a presentation to us
seeking our support to introduce media outfits, radio, and
television for the force and as well for the Police to embrace
technology from the current manual ways of doing things.

“The Inspector-General of Police dominated the whole day of our
discussion on issues concerning the Police.

“In some countries, the ratio of police to the population is
1:10, but in Nigeria, we have 1:400.

“So, they are having so many difficulties in terms of funding
which we agreed that with the way things are going, through the
budgeting process, we cannot be able to fund police.

“So, the Inspector-General of Police made us know that there is
a Trust Fund Bill which is before the National Assembly and he
asked for our support and that of members of the National Assembly,
especially the House of Representatives.

NGF names committee on  State Police

“On our own part, we have put a committee in place. It consists
of the governors of Kwara, Imo, Delta, Ekiti, Bauchi and Sokoto
states. The committee is to interface with the Committee on Police
and take the matter before the Acting President for further action.
It is important for our nation.

“Besides this, there is the issue of state police which is being
discussed, and we are coming up with so many options. We are
expecting the committee will consider safe ways of policing in
Nigeria.”

Also speaking to journalists, the IGP said security challenges
in virtually all parts of the country were the dominant issue at
the meeting, stressing that matters that bordered on security
require a collective effort to confront.

He said the essence of the meeting with the governors centred on
“our efforts to address some of the challenges in the Police
unit.

“We had a fruitful discussion with them, and obviously, all of
them are concerned about security in virtually all parts of the
country.

“They are ready to support the Police Force to see how we can
address some of the challenges.”

On the Acting President’s charge for reinforcements in the
security apparatus of the country, he said:  “Obviously, it is
a normal procedure. When we have challenges, we normally
reinforce.

“Having insecurity all over the country requires the
participation of every citizen of this country. We have to put our
heads together to address all the security challenges.

“The governments are doing well, they are trying to bring
communities closer, and I think it takes a long time, but by and
large, with the cooperation of community members and all the
security agencies, we have met to synergise.”

It’ll bring anarchy — Tsav

Reacting to the proposals on state police, Tsav told our
reporter yesterday:

“If the governors have state police, they will do what they
like. What causes problems in our society is injustice. When
peoples’ rights are infringed, they go to the Police to seek
justice, and when they don’t get justice, a problem arises. We
should not make the mistake of allowing the governors to have state
police.

“Doing that will amount to looking for trouble.  A Police
Commissioner will be at the beck and call of a state governor. He
will do whatever a state governor wants him to do, and these
governors are very desperate and want to remain in power at all
costs.

“When they have state Police, they can use it to harass and
intimidate their opponents. We are not yet ripe for state police. I
think what the governors should do is to support the Police by
allowing them to do their job without interference.  When we
are civilised, we can start thinking about that but not now.”

The Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, has constituted a six-man
committee of its members to explore funding options for policing
the country, with a mandate to also explore prospects for
introducing state police in the country.

The committee comprises the governors of Kwara, Imo, Delta,
Ekiti, Bauchi and Sokoto states.

The governors reached the decision late Wednesday night, after
consultations with the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim
Idris, in a meeting of the NGF at the Presidential Villa.

The decision followed ventilations of  difficulties faced
by the Police, including  stagnation of the Police Trust Fund
Bill in the National Assembly. The Police boss asked the governors
to facilitate its passage by persuading their delegations to the
National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the call for state police was, yesterday, flayed by
former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav,
who said state police will turn into a weapon of intimidation by
governors.

NGF Chairman, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, who spoke with State House
Correspondents at the end of the late night meeting, said the NGF
will articulate issues raised by the Police boss to the Acting
President, with a view to addressing problems faced by the
Police.

He said:  “We discussed, and we received a presentation
from the Inspector-General of Police. He made a presentation to us
seeking our support to introduce media outfits, radio, and
television for the force and as well for the Police to embrace
technology from the current manual ways of doing things.

“The Inspector-General of Police dominated the whole day of our
discussion on issues concerning the Police.

“In some countries, the ratio of police to the population is
1:10, but in Nigeria, we have 1:400.

“So, they are having so many difficulties in terms of funding
which we agreed that with the way things are going, through the
budgeting process, we cannot be able to fund police.

“So, the Inspector-General of Police made us know that there is
a Trust Fund Bill which is before the National Assembly and he
asked for our support and that of members of the National Assembly,
especially the House of Representatives.

NGF names committee on  State Police

“On our own part, we have put a committee in place. It consists
of the governors of Kwara, Imo, Delta, Ekiti, Bauchi and Sokoto
states. The committee is to interface with the Committee on Police
and take the matter before the Acting President for further action.
It is important for our nation.

“Besides this, there is the issue of state police which is being
discussed, and we are coming up with so many options. We are
expecting the committee will consider safe ways of policing in
Nigeria.”

Also speaking to journalists, the IGP said security challenges
in virtually all parts of the country were the dominant issue at
the meeting, stressing that matters that bordered on security
require a collective effort to confront.

He said the essence of the meeting with the governors centred on
“our efforts to address some of the challenges in the Police
unit.

“We had a fruitful discussion with them, and obviously, all of
them are concerned about security in virtually all parts of the
country.

“They are ready to support the Police Force to see how we can
address some of the challenges.”

On the Acting President’s charge for reinforcements in the
security apparatus of the country, he said:  “Obviously, it is
a normal procedure. When we have challenges, we normally
reinforce.

“Having insecurity all over the country requires the
participation of every citizen of this country. We have to put our
heads together to address all the security challenges.

“The governments are doing well, they are trying to bring
communities closer, and I think it takes a long time, but by and
large, with the cooperation of community members and all the
security agencies, we have met to synergise.”

It’ll bring anarchy — Tsav

Reacting to the proposals on state police, Tsav told our
reporter yesterday:

“If the governors have state police, they will do what they
like. What causes problems in our society is injustice. When
peoples’ rights are infringed, they go to the Police to seek
justice, and when they don’t get justice, a problem arises. We
should not make the mistake of allowing the governors to have state
police.

“Doing that will amount to looking for trouble.  A Police
Commissioner will be at the beck and call of a state governor. He
will do whatever a state governor wants him to do, and these
governors are very desperate and want to remain in power at all
costs.

“When they have state Police, they can use it to harass and
intimidate their opponents. We are not yet ripe for state police. I
think what the governors should do is to support the Police by
allowing them to do their job without interference.  When we
are civilised, we can start thinking about that but not now.”