A former member of the House of Representatives, Otunba Yomi Ogunnusi, says the creation of state police is the surest way to ensure the safety of lives and property in Nigeria.
Ogunnusi, who represented Ifako-Ijaye federal constituency in the 7th Assembly, said this in a statement on Thursday.
The former lawmaker, who was the first legislator to sponsor a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of a state police, said the issue of security was too sensitive to be left in the hands of the Federal Government.
According to him, the bill seeks to alter the provisions of section 214 of the 1999 constitution and to insert new sections 217,218 and 219 and section D and E to part II of the third schedule of the constitution.
The bill addresses the problem of insecurity and its threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria.
He said, “Governments all over the world prioritise security in their budgets and planning. Like most countries, Nigeria has a long history of violence; a nasty civil war with about three million causalities, a succession of military coups and its attendant brutality, and even longer and seemingly endless sequence of civil unrest and occasional breakdown of law and order. .
“Recent problems, especially the insurgency in the North-East, show the ineptitude of the police and other security agencies. The present constitutional structure of the police obviously shows that the Nigeria Police Force is not equipped structurally to flush out crime or forestall the breakdown of law and order.
“The security of lives and property should never be the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government. Everyone has a stake in the security of a nation.”
Ogunnusi said that the performance of the police had remained relatively low despite the existence of the Ministry of Police Affairs, Police Service Commission and Nigerian Police Academy.
He stated that the concept of community policing was important in the fight against crime in society.
“This explains why countries such as India, Japan, the United States and Australia established community policing in their genuine quest to keep the crime rate at a minimum level. Nigeria can take a cue from these countries,” he said.
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