Nigeria Needs Well Structured State Policing - Emeka Kalu | Independent Newspaper Nigeria

Source: Independent Newspapers Nigeria

LAGOS - As the debate over the adop­tion of state policing contin­ues, Chief Emeka Charles Kalu, a People's Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, has said that Nigeria needs a well-structured, well defined and regulated state policing, if it can successfully combat and contain the rising crime wave and criminalities disturbing the peace of the citizens.

Chief Kalu, National Coor­dinator, Peoples Democratic Party Coalition (PDPCO) and President, Eck Foundation, who spoke to Sunday Indepen­dent exclusively, maintained that the leadership of the Ni­gerian Police Force is weak to the extent that its operations in combating crimes are swiftly resisted, countered and chal­lenged by criminal elements.

This, he argued, had made the Police Force and other se­curity agencies uneasy to fight crimes and protect the citizens and their properties.

Kalu, an engineer, stated: "Following the harrowing wave of insecurity in the country and the calls from concerned citizens and people from all walks of life for the creation of component state controlled police, I strongly not only support same, but state that it has to be hurriedly done by the National Assem­bly, considering the spate of crimes prevalence in the land.

"A wide range of violent killings, ranging from illicit and unprovoked activities of itinerant Fulani herders, ritu­al killings, sectional terrorism, kidnap for ransom and other senseless crimes committed on a daily basis without effective confrontation from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) truly bites my heart.

"In Nigeria today, it is rare to have a day well spent without a record of innocent citizens being reported killed, raped, abducted or violently maltreated. No nation pros­pers in the face of threats to life, killings and man's inhu­manity to man."

Kalu, a well-travelled in­ternational businessman, stressed that while Nigeria may not yet be ripe to have a state controlled police as ar­gued by the current Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, the level of crime volatility in the country has astronomically taken an unbearable dimension, that if urgent steps are not taken to tackle the menace, sooner than expected, gangs of criminals and terrorists would be proud­ly visiting their targets' homes and freely bringing them out to be butchered on a broad day light, without resistance from anybody.

Kalu recalled that during the National Dialogue on State Policing organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja, the IGP had maintained that the state security architec­ture could be compromised at the instance of desperate pol­iticians and state governors, who might be using the secu­rity apparatus to unjustifiably hurt their political opponents.

The PDP stalwart stressed: "To achieve this giant stride in holistically restructuring and improving our national securi­ty system, stringent conditions in law must be made to prevent abuse, excesses and reckless­ness of state political actors, who might be inordinately bent on using the security platform under their control to unduly attack and influence others.

"A bill for an Act Establish­ing a National Enlistment and Disciplinary Body charged with the constitutional func­tions of determining the limits of power at the instance of the governors in controlling the state-owned police force should be enacted, if this agenda is to be realised.

"It is only when certain stipulated conditions barring state political actors from ar­bitrarily compromising the in­tegrity of the state managed se­curity forces are provided and protected by the law that abuse of power could be prevented.

"It is on this premise that I express my reservation on the proclivity of having state polic­ing created in Nigeria.

"As a matter of urgent con­cern, the Federal Government is obliged to hasten up in its plans towards reforming the national security system to at­tract a minimised danger-free polity, where citizens could eas­ily walk around without fear or prejudice.

"Polluted security situa­tions have regrettably caused the nation a lot of havoc social­ly, economically and politically and it is time to get this anom­aly nipped in the bud.

"The distressing circum­stances under which the coun­try is currently plunged in as a result of the escalating se­curity threats, have grossly en­dangered the economy, thereby leaving the helplessly desper­ate citizens with no options than indulging in crimes as the last resort to provide their daily needs.

"To have this ugly situa­tion changed for the better, the government is expected to facilitate all necessary actions towards achieving a balanced and harmonised security sys­tem through rejigging, equip­ping and upgrading their op­erational mechanisms where service delivery would be seen to have attained excellence."