Former President Goodluck Jonathan emphatically voiced his support for the establishment of State Police as the ultimate solution to combat the prevailing security challenges in the nation.
He ardently believes that empowering individual states with their own police forces will significantly bolster security measures and facilitate a more efficient response to local security issues.
According to Jonathan, the implementation of State Police will introduce a localized approach to law enforcement, better suited to address the distinct security challenges faced by individual states.
The former President made these remarks at a Critical National Dialogue on the Establishment of State Police organized by the House of Representatives in Abuja, under the theme “Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria”.
“We don’t need to debate whether we should have state police or not, I think is already settled, there is no way to manage our internal security if the states do not have their police,” Jonathan asserted.
He noted that the 2014 National Conference, convened during his administration, endorsed the creation of state police, emphasizing that the country cannot afford to delay the implementation of this crucial measure any longer.
“We must not waste our time debating whether we should have state police or not, we should concentrate on how to check abuses by state political actors.
“The key area that we need to debate is how we will run the state police to secure the security architecture of the country so that it is most effective and devoid of any political influence,” Jonathan emphasized.
He underscored that the concept of establishing state police should have been solidified during his tenure as the President and Commander-in-Chief.
“If we are talking of state police, we must also rejig the Independent National Electoral Commission, so that the state police would not be used to favor the ruling party,” he added.
Jonathan expressed his belief that with state police in place, incidences of kidnapping and other criminal activities would significantly decrease.
“We have not been able to control the issue of kidnapping since it started, and we need to reduce it to the barest minimum,” he concluded.
