Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory
(FCT), says Nigeria does not have the institutional capacity for state
policing.
The creation of state police has been on the front burner
for years now, with many governors advocating for its implementation to enhance
security within their domains.
Last year, Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, announced that all
36 state governments had submitted their reports backing the creation of state
police.
He said state policing would serve as a crucial step towards
improving security across the country.
Speaking during a media chat on Sunday, Wike said the
adoption of state or community policing would birth autocratic governors in
several states.
“In Nigeria, what system do we run? Is Abuja different from
Nigeria when you talk about the police? People have been recommending community
policing and state police,” he said.
“Knowing where we are, and where we are from, if you allow
that, so many people would not come out of their houses. So, I said let’s try
it first and see how it works.
“But so many people said there’s no need to try, that we
have seen that if they allow state policing today, nobody would oppose any
state governor. It is either you would die for murder or for armed robbery. Our
institutions are not such that are independent.”
The former governor said his previous support for state
police does not necessarily mean it is still the right decision today.
“The mere fact that I supported state police [when I was
governor], if I was wrong, I was wrong. If I was right, I was right,” he said.
“What we are saying is that our institutions are not strong
to be independent of manipulation by the system.”
During his first term as governor, Wike assented to a bill
establishing the neighbourhood safety corps.
Some of the functions of the corps included the detection of
crime, arrest of offenders with or without a warrant, and bearing arms in the
performance of their duties, among others.
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