Why state police is inevitable, by ACN

FOR the country to effectively tackle the enormous security challenges facing the country, a state police force is a necessity, according to the Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

The party said that with the gross failure of the Nigeria Police Force to rise to the widespread security challenges in the country, opposition to state police was waning and the idea should be given due attention.

In a statement in Lagos by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that with each opposition to the idea of state police, various challenges arise each day to answer those who do not want the idea to see the light of the day. It advises that no further delay be tolerated in putting the idea into practice.

The statement noted: “When Lagos started and sustained the campaign for state police, our concern then was to have enough well trained capacity to deal with the challenges of ensuring the security of lives and property in a complex state as Lagos. We note that many Nigerians opposed this on clearly partisan reasons and not on the demerits of the demand. We, however, note that with the widespread state of insecurity pervading the country at present, many of those that fiercely opposed the idea of state police have come to see the great and urgent need for it and have become fierce campaigners of the policy.

“We note that through the hard work and proactive inclination of the Lagos State government, the security challenges that prompted the demand for state police in Lagos have been contained while newer theaters of insecurity have arisen to give fillip to the demand. We therefore state that there is a national demand for state police as a panacea for the expanding state of insecurity facing Nigeria at present.

“We demand that as an experiment, state police should be tried in Lagos and two other cities for a period of 10 years and from there, Nigerians will determine the viability or otherwise of the idea of state police. We are saying this because we are mindful of the fact that if Lagos is given such opportunity, the state will build the most efficient, most functional, most responsive, most active and most proactive police force in Africa.”

The statement added: “Lagos ACN wants to state, for the umpteenth time, that the present Nigeria Police are bogged down by monumental problems ranging from redundancy, inadequate training, dearth of equipment, nepotism, incompetence and weal control. These have made the police grossly incompetent to deal with the security problems that are staring Nigeria today. A situation where control of state commands of the Nigerian Police still rests in a central command in Abuja is counterproductive to tackling the security problems of the country at present. We state that a situation where policemen who have little or no knowledge of their operational terrain and culture can only lead to the poor security harvest we are having at present.”

According to ACN, a state security structure will allow respective states to recruit and post policemen to areas they have clear knowledge of the culture and terrain, which are very necessary in tracking crimes and dealing with them.

“We believe that states are more knowledgeable and more competent in dealing with localised crimes in their given areas. We believe that every crime is committed within a given local milieu and are best approached from localised perspectives hence the urgent need for state police if we must effectively deal with the rising security challenges in Nigeria today. We hope those who oppose the idea because of sundry reasons will come to the realisation that the benefits outweigh the risks and support it for the good of all Nigerians.”

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97175:why-state-police-is-inevitable-by-acn&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

OAM4J: Why state police is inevitable, by ACN

FOR the country to effectively tackle the enormous security challenges facing the country, a state police force is a necessity, according to the Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

The party said that with the gross failure of the Nigeria Police Force to rise to the widespread security challenges in the country, opposition to state police was waning and the idea should be given due attention.

In a statement in Lagos by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that with each opposition to the idea of state police, various challenges arise each day to answer those who do not want the idea to see the light of the day. It advises that no further delay be tolerated in putting the idea into practice.

The statement noted: “When Lagos started and sustained the campaign for state police, our concern then was to have enough well trained capacity to deal with the challenges of ensuring the security of lives and property in a complex state as Lagos. We note that many Nigerians opposed this on clearly partisan reasons and not on the demerits of the demand. We, however, note that with the widespread state of insecurity pervading the country at present, many of those that fiercely opposed the idea of state police have come to see the great and urgent need for it and have become fierce campaigners of the policy.

“We note that through the hard work and proactive inclination of the Lagos State government, the security challenges that prompted the demand for state police in Lagos have been contained while newer theaters of insecurity have arisen to give fillip to the demand. We therefore state that there is a national demand for state police as a panacea for the expanding state of insecurity facing Nigeria at present.

“We demand that as an experiment, state police should be tried in Lagos and two other cities for a period of 10 years and from there, Nigerians will determine the viability or otherwise of the idea of state police. We are saying this because we are mindful of the fact that if Lagos is given such opportunity, the state will build the most efficient, most functional, most responsive, most active and most proactive police force in Africa.”

The statement added: “Lagos ACN wants to state, for the umpteenth time, that the present Nigeria Police are bogged down by monumental problems ranging from redundancy, inadequate training, dearth of equipment, nepotism, incompetence and weal control. These have made the police grossly incompetent to deal with the security problems that are staring Nigeria today. A situation where control of state commands of the Nigerian Police still rests in a central command in Abuja is counterproductive to tackling the security problems of the country at present. We state that a situation where policemen who have little or no knowledge of their operational terrain and culture can only lead to the poor security harvest we are having at present.”

According to ACN, a state security structure will allow respective states to recruit and post policemen to areas they have clear knowledge of the culture and terrain, which are very necessary in tracking crimes and dealing with them.

“We believe that states are more knowledgeable and more competent in dealing with localised crimes in their given areas. We believe that every crime is committed within a given local milieu and are best approached from localised perspectives hence the urgent need for state police if we must effectively deal with the rising security challenges in Nigeria today. We hope those who oppose the idea because of sundry reasons will come to the realisation that the benefits outweigh the risks and support it for the good of all Nigerians.”

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97175:why-state-police-is-inevitable-by-acn&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Nigeria as a country is not ripe for a state police yet, reasons are that most governors will miss use it, expecially during elections, citizens who go against their wishes, eg civil society organisations, human right activitst etc, I believe the FG should continue with d mode of deployment of police to various parts of the country.

Lucy001:

Nigeria as a country is not ripe for a state police yet, reasons are that most governors will miss use it, expecially during elections, citizens who go against their wishes, eg civil society organisations, human right activitst etc, I believe the FG should continue with d mode of deployment of police to various parts of the country.

[b]Why should the FG continue to do something that has failed us over the decades? why do u think they will definitely get a different result with time? Various things over the years have been done to ensure we have a very responsive police force that includes more funding, salary increase, mode of employment, more tools to work with, different operational changes, leadership change, even uniform change all to avail. Nothing has worked so far. The reason isnt far-fetched, the system simply needs to have a well fortified police force.

I understand ur fears about their mis-use by governors but they dont neccessarily need to be under the control of the executives. They could be under the Judiciary or elected or whatever as it will be decided.

Again i re-iterate that the best best set of people that can properly police a particular area are the inhabitants of such an area. Deploying an Aboki man down to the creeks to police is pure madness. Get a creek man to police it and the job will be well done. We simply cant continue with this failed system.[/b]

OAM4J: Why state police is inevitable, by ACN

FOR the country to effectively tackle the enormous security challenges facing the country, a state police force is a necessity, according to the Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

The party said that with the gross failure of the Nigeria Police Force to rise to the widespread security challenges in the country, opposition to state police was waning and the idea should be given due attention.

In a statement in Lagos by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Joe Igbokwe, the party said that with each opposition to the idea of state police, various challenges arise each day to answer those who do not want the idea to see the light of the day. It advises that no further delay be tolerated in putting the idea into practice.

The statement noted: “When Lagos started and sustained the campaign for state police, our concern then was to have enough well trained capacity to deal with the challenges of ensuring the security of lives and property in a complex state as Lagos. We note that many Nigerians opposed this on clearly partisan reasons and not on the demerits of the demand. We, however, note that with the widespread state of insecurity pervading the country at present, many of those that fiercely opposed the idea of state police have come to see the great and urgent need for it and have become fierce campaigners of the policy.

“We note that through the hard work and proactive inclination of the Lagos State government, the security challenges that prompted the demand for state police in Lagos have been contained while newer theaters of insecurity have arisen to give fillip to the demand. We therefore state that there is a national demand for state police as a panacea for the expanding state of insecurity facing Nigeria at present.

“We demand that as an experiment, state police should be tried in Lagos and two other cities for a period of 10 years and from there, Nigerians will determine the viability or otherwise of the idea of state police. We are saying this because we are mindful of the fact that if Lagos is given such opportunity, the state will build the most efficient, most functional, most responsive, most active and most proactive police force in Africa.”

The statement added: “Lagos ACN wants to state, for the umpteenth time, that the present Nigeria Police are bogged down by monumental problems ranging from redundancy, inadequate training, dearth of equipment, nepotism, incompetence and weal control. These have made the police grossly incompetent to deal with the security problems that are staring Nigeria today. A situation where control of state commands of the Nigerian Police still rests in a central command in Abuja is counterproductive to tackling the security problems of the country at present. We state that a situation where policemen who have little or no knowledge of their operational terrain and culture can only lead to the poor security harvest we are having at present.”

According to ACN, a state security structure will allow respective states to recruit and post policemen to areas they have clear knowledge of the culture and terrain, which are very necessary in tracking crimes and dealing with them.

“We believe that states are more knowledgeable and more competent in dealing with localised crimes in their given areas. We believe that every crime is committed within a given local milieu and are best approached from localised perspectives hence the urgent need for state police if we must effectively deal with the rising security challenges in Nigeria today. We hope those who oppose the idea because of sundry reasons will come to the realisation that the benefits outweigh the risks and support it for the good of all Nigerians.”

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97175:why-state-police-is-inevitable-by-acn&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Can someone tell this people that we are not yet ripe for state policing .. haba dis opposition status wey ACN get don dey turn to another thing ooo...

Nigeria is not ripe for State police. Our present political landscape will not allow for effective implementation, we already have some form of state police in states like Kano. Hisbah or whatever they are called. Instead of them catching criminals, they were busy destroying alcoholic drinks and flogging women for wearing trousers, etc... So for now, i don't agree at all.

ACN my foot,

ACN is not being sensible here at all. Have they considered the dangers this would pose at the state level? They have not considered the dangers state governors would inflict on families of their political enemies, using the state police. This is just one disadvantage out of many others.

They are only saying this just because GEJ said Nigeria is not yet ripe for state police. They just want to counter everything GEJ says, whether true or false. Assuming Jonathan supported the idea, you would have heard ACN kicking against it.

Opposition by fire by force!

Will ACN give funds to all the states to train and maintain the state police?

A country as big as Nigeria need a state police. As someone argued above it must not be under the control of governors. Are there no examples of countries with state police?. Is Nigeria doing better security-wise than them?.

Just imagine LASTMA as the police in Lagos state.......

State police is definitely the way forward for Nigeria. the state police department can sustain it self through summons, tickets e.t.c. counties (local governments) don't need large police force. These guys are always few , well trained, known in the community and quite effective. It's not like the federal government will loose its power. The feds can override the state when they are interested in a case and its good for the society. It's going to be a competitive thing. the feds checkmate the state and the state checkmate the fed and every security agent is on his toe and the citizens are happy.

The federal police should and will definitely be more equipped and funded than the state police. Just like in the movies.

Community policing is the best for Nigeria.




Frawzey

Nigerian government knows the right thing to do but for reasons you and I know they do something opposite.

ACN will always take an opposite side even when they know the truth just to score political points. imagine a state police during the tribal crises in Jos. abeg make we hear word.

sharp man: Just imagine LASTMA as the police in Lagos state.......

and imagine LASTMA being given arms! We are in deep shiiiit in lagos.eko ma baje no ni!

I beg those concerned in the name of Almighty God that state police should not be allowed now until Governor Akpabio leaves the corridor of power in Akwa Ibom State.

sharp man: Just imagine LASTMA as the police in Lagos state.......

Can't even begin to imagine that....as Naija will say...NA DIE.

The opponents of State police have really not thought it through. They say state police will be used by the governors for intimidation. Well there are 2 responses to that. First the state governors already have the stage AG's, the state Judges and the ministry of justice at their disposal. What stops a state governor ordering the state attorney-general to bring charges against an opponent. What many people fail to realize is that the it is not the police that charge people to court it is the public prosecutor. A state governor can easily appoint a 'special prosecutor' to investigate anybody and bring charges against them. Are we now saying that state governments should not control state courts anymore?

The second point is the Nigerian police would not be dismantled. Rather it would become a Federal force akin to the US FBI. It could still maintain it's MOPOL force in the states to ensure that their is a counter-weight to any state police that may be used for ethnic attacks. If we address this issue without sentiments, I am sure we can establish state police in such a way as to get the benefits while preventing the fears of the opponents.

sharp man: Just imagine LASTMA as the police in Lagos state.......

hahahaha

It will become a ready made tool in the hand of the powerful to harass and punish the less connected individuals.

STATE POLICE should be the last thing that should be on our mind at the moment. I do not believe in it because it will definitely be a wrong idea for Nigeria at the moment. Let us go back to the states and the security outfits that they were opportune to use in the past. The first that comes to my mind is HISBA, most of the stories that we have been getting from HISBA are mostly negative stories like http:///forum/topics/kano-state-hisba-arrests-20-men-for-refusing-to-fast . The fact that it is being organized by the state means that 90% or more of the staff will be from the state involved and therefore in a state like the North, where the HISBA will take over the work from the police, it only means that one day non indigenes will also be forced to dance to the tunes of the HISBA/BOKO BOYS turned State Police officers. Same thing goes in the Eastern part of the country, now using Anambra as a case study, some years ago during the regime of Governor Mbadinuju who initiated the services of vigilante men referred to as the BAKASSI BOYS, there were many cases were they were used by the state government as a tool against oppositions. People were murdered at every junction by the so called Bakassi boys without any trial. If the state police are accepted then we have just signed our death certificate because the murder without trial will continue. Now we have LATSMA in lagos, sometimes when I drive through the streets of Lagos and I see how they operate what often comes to my mind is assuming that LATSMA is allowed to carry guns. Just Imagine that, I therefore pray that all Nigerians will surely understand that the call for a State Police is the last thing that we need now because it will bring disintegration instead we should focus our mind on our power sector OR SNC.

I have never seen a matter where ACN demonstrate practical wisdom than this issue of state police.State police is long overdue.if there is anybody with good reason why state police cant be implemented,the person should say it.Some say its because some governors will use it against opposition while some said that it will lead to disintegration and some said that state government cant fund such establishment.these are the reasons you will see and get to understand that some Nigerians hate good thing. In Anambra state for e.g,the local vigilante is notable for assiting in so much measure in bringing kidnapping to its barest minimum.these are people without professional training and with low authority.these people are paid from state coffers and most of the police vehicles and security gadget were provided by state government.so,how can some1 say that states cant sponsor 'state police'.Secondly,many region that are seeking for independence now do not have 'state police'.Biafra did'nt go to war with police.so for those that think state police can cause disintegration,how? Thirdly,witch hunting political opponents by state governors using state police is a bad assessment especially now that people are more enlightened that sympathy votes seems to be much feared by ruling Govs.witch hunting opponent using police can help the opposition garner sympathy support and can be effective for victory.and Beside,political issues surrounding the state police will never be more important than lives and properties of the masses which the police is meant to protect.so,the life/property should be priority and not witch hunting issues.Equally,some Govs can still use the police even when its not state police to witch hunt anybody if they want.Thirdly,every state must not start using state police at same time,otherwise,it become centralisation which is not a feature of true federalism,so any state that think they can have state police should be granted the right. Fourthly,the work of security is a work of sacrifice.No Igbo or Yoruba will want to die in protectin northerners from Boko haram.Equally,no hausa policeman will want to sacrifce his life in trying to stop kidnapp/armed robbery gangs in southern region.so,state police wil bring about efficiency in police service.Me think ACN is right.

bjdon: The opponents of State police have really not thought it through. They say state police will be used by the governors for intimidation. Well there are 2 responses to that. First the state governors already have the stage AG's, the state Judges and the ministry of justice at their disposal. What stops a state governor ordering the state attorney-general to bring charges against an opponent. What many people fail to realize is that the it is not the police that charge people to court it is the public prosecutor. A state governor can easily appoint a 'special prosecutor' to investigate anybody and bring charges against them. Are we now saying that state governments should not control state courts anymore?

The second point is the Nigerian police would not be dismantled. Rather it would become a Federal force akin to the US FBI. It could still maintain it's MOPOL force in the states to ensure that their is a counter-weight to any state police that may be used for ethnic attacks. If we address this issue without sentiments, I am sure we can establish state police in such a way as to get the benefits while preventing the fears of the opponents.

So you do know that the judges are in the pocket of the governors? Go do a little research if you live in Naija. State governors are already abusing the state judiciary and legislature. If you add the police to that, gbam! Nuclear bomb mixture. In your face bro!

sharp man: Just imagine LASTMA as the police in Lagos state.......

< No, the state Police will have Code of Conduct and will have Laws guiding them, LASMA has none of these just bunch of uniform Men. I just Immunity clause removed from state Governors and other top government offices

i think da wat naija nid is military police nd civil police e.g lyk brazil where civil police wl b dealin wt investigation nd detective job while d military police wl b focusn on law nd order in d streets

bjdon: The opponents of State police have really not thought it through. They say state police will be used by the governors for intimidation. Well there are 2 responses to that. First the state governors already have the stage AG's, the state Judges and the ministry of justice at their disposal. What stops a state governor ordering the state attorney-general to bring charges against an opponent. What many people fail to realize is that the it is not the police that charge people to court it is the public prosecutor. A state governor can easily appoint a 'special prosecutor' to investigate anybody and bring charges against them. Are we now saying that state governments should not control state courts anymore?

The second point is the Nigerian police would not be dismantled. Rather it would become a Federal force akin to the US FBI. It could still maintain it's MOPOL force in the states to ensure that their is a counter-weight to any state police that may be used for ethnic attacks. If we address this issue without sentiments, I am sure we can establish state police in such a way as to get the benefits while preventing the fears of the opponents.

Well there's a body called NBA that also monitors and maintains that part, though you cannot tell me that you are 100% sure that some politicians have not manipulated them before in the past, we are talking about the Nigerian Police here. The only thing that we need to make the police better is to forget about enrolling WAEC holder and if possible, let it be only degree earners that can be admitted to the police, the government is already working on it with the creation of the new POLICE ACADEMY

Govt spending Billions of Naira every year transfering policemen & their family from one part of the country to another is WRONG.The NEGATIVE effects of this policy on police children are enormous.
Whereas, under state police, govt need not spend a kobo to accommodate police officers & their families.

I fully support this. Each state and citizens should feel like they can have control over their states. Nigeria is too big for federal police. State police will cut out a lot of ghost workers and fraud in the pension scheme. Policing will be more structured, controlled and have more quality. We cannot put a premium on human life. As for funding, take the money out of the federal allocation. The billions politicians are stealing everyday can go to the police. The federal government will also improve and support state police, by providing them the equipment and a head start. State police is the way forward. As for those talking about Lastma, they will always be traffic police. They already are anyway. OPC will be state police. . They already do a 100times better job than the current police.

State Police will be the beginning of true Confederacy in our Nationhood. I do not agree that we are not mature enough because Politicians will use police to hunt their opposition. Even if Politicians want to use Police against themselves, who fvcking cares ? The lesser the number of politicians, the better the system will function. State Police will be excellent, and it should be experimented in Lagos as a pilot state.

Lucy001:

Nigeria as a country is not ripe for a state police yet, reasons are that most governors will miss use it, expecially during elections, citizens who go against their wishes, eg civil society organisations, human right activitst etc, I believe the FG should continue with d mode of deployment of police to various parts of the country.

You didnt include our corrupt and compromised judicial system. We are known for copying policies from other nations without actually sitting down first to understand such policies. If our rulers abuse democracy, is it state police they wont abuse? Nigeria isnt ripe for state police yet! State police cannot functional properly without an independent judiciary and rule of law. Good idea + wrong timing= a bad idea....Just imagine a governor like the arrogant Rotimi Amaechi of rivers state in abusing state police....despotic tyranny breeds....

Billyonaire: State Police will be the beginning of true Confederacy in our Nationhood. I do not agree that we are not mature enough because Politicians will use police to hunt their opposition. Even if Politicians want to use Police against themselves, who fvcking cares ? The lesser the number of politicians, the better the system will function. State Police will be excellent, and it should be experimented in Lagos as a pilot state.

At last...