Former President Goodluck Jonathan has disagreed with the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun for opposing the creation of state police.
The former President said Nigeria could not afford to toy with the idea of state police any longer as it is the only solution to the security challenges facing the country.
Jonathan said this at a Critical National Dialogue on the Establishment of State Police organised by the House of Representatives on Monday, in Abuja, with the theme: “Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria”.
Jonathan’s position is in opposition to that of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who said the country is yet to mature and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police.
However, Jonathan said, “We don’t need to debate whether we should have state police or not, I think it’s already settled. There is no way to manage our internal security if the states do not have their police,” Jonathan said, adding that the 2014 National Conference set up during his administration supported the creation of state police.
“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.”
The former President said the idea of establishing state police should have been concretised while he was in office 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 favour the ruling party,” he said.
Jonathan said with state police, kidnapping and other criminalities would be reduced to the barest minimum.
“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 said.
