Lawal: State Police Will Give Governors Real Authority to Tackle Insecurity

By Muhammad A. Abubakar   Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has said the establishment of state police would strengthen the ...

By Muhammad A. Abubakar 

Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has said the establishment of state police would strengthen the fight against insecurity by giving governors genuine authority to function as chief security officers of their respective states.

The governor made the remarks during the Arise News Town Hall Summit on Building a National Consensus for State Police and National Security, held at the ThisDay Dome in Abuja, according to a statement issued on Thursday by his spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris.

The statement said Governor Lawal, who participated in the summit as a panellist, argued that insecurity had persisted in many states because the command and control structure of the Nigeria Police Force is not under the control of state governors.

According to him, allowing state governments to oversee policing within their jurisdictions would improve the protection of lives and property by making security personnel more responsive to local security challenges.

"We're being called chief security officers of our respective states; however, the command and control structure is not under the governors," the statement quoted the governor as saying.

The governor further stated that the proposed state police system would enable governors to assume greater responsibility for security while making them more accountable to their citizens.

"I am happy with the recent development of state police because it allows us to keep to our responsibilities and for our people also to hold us accountable as far as the security situation is concerned in our respective states," he was quoted as saying.

According to the statement, Governor Lawal expressed confidence that the creation of state police would address many of the country's security challenges.

"I strongly believe that, by the time we have state police, it will go a long way in solving a lot of the challenges, and we can then bear our names as proper chief security officers of our respective states," he said.

Responding to concerns over the possible misuse of state police by governors, the statement said Lawal dismissed such fears, noting that most states already operate one or more security outfits without using them to intimidate or suppress political opponents.

He, however, called on the National Assembly to put in place appropriate legal safeguards to prevent any abuse of the proposed policing system.

"I support state police. I recognise people's fears of possible abuse, but with the right processes in place, those fears will be allayed," the statement quoted him as saying.

The statement noted that the summit was organised to build national consensus on the establishment of state police and broader national security reforms amid growing concerns over insecurity across Nigeria.

It added that the event brought together governors, security chiefs, lawmakers, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, policy experts and other stakeholders to deliberate on measures aimed at strengthening national security and protecting lives and property.