… Commends Tinubu giving it consideration
The Director-General of BAT’s 4/4 Renewed Hope Agenda, Engr Dan Ohiomoba has hailed the presidential decision on state policing saying it is the panacea to crimes and criminality ravaging the country.
Engr Ohiomoba in a chat with the media noted that the spate of insecurity in Nigeria has assumed a frightening dimension hitherto, sustained crimes and criminality of the level that appears to challenge the instruments of state authority and coercion was localized to a section of the country.
He said, “This cannot be said to be the situation in today’s Nigeria, as insecurity and all manner of crimes and criminality of frightening dimensions have engulfed all sections of the country inclusive of the Federal Capital Territory.
“Islamic insurgency in the Northeast, kidnapping for ransom, deadly Farmers-Herders clashes in the Central Belt and Separatist/Gang violence in the Southeast are some of the challenges faced by the Nigeria Police Force.”
The DG also noted that indeed, the situation calls for some extra-ordinary measures and deep thinking outside the box by the various tiers of government and those whose constitutional responsibility is the maintenance of law and order.
According to him, “In a determined effort to urgently arrest and bring the situation under control, the Federal Government of Nigeria, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the spirit of the Renewed Hope Agenda, began to mull an all-inclusive policing/collaboration with the sub-national entities, through the establishment of State Police.
“Thus, the Federal Government of Nigeria is considering the introduction of State Police in its 36 States of the Federation to bolster its national policing efforts as it struggles to contain widespread violence and insecurity, the Minister of Information and National Orientation disclosed this on Thursday, 15th February, 2024.
“To this end, a delegation of the Federal Government of Nigeria led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Vice President, the National Security Adviser and the various heads of Security Agencies met with the Governors of the 36 states of the Federation and had extensive deliberations on the prevailing security challenges in the country.
“In the end, they agreed that State Police is the way to go as the nation struggles to curtail the menace of insecurity. This understanding was reached during the emergency meeting on the State of the Nation presided over by President Tinubu with the 36 Governors in attendance. The meeting took place at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday.”
Ohiomoba further noted that the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this development to correspondents at a News briefing after the meeting where he was joined by Governors Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Ubah Sani (Kaduna), and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta).
He said, “While noting that both the Federal and State Governments are mulling the idea, Mohammed said a series of meetings were in the pipeline to determine the modalities for setting up State Police in all the States, noting however that, as at the time of this briefing, nothing concrete has yet been determined. But all stakeholders in the project are determined to consciously work towards the realization of State Police to compliment the Nigeria Police in fighting crimes and all forms of criminality in the country.”
Engr Ohiomoba added, “as a grass-root Support Group with direct experiential knowledge of the pulse of the common man, the regular Nigerian on our streets and in the hinterlands, the BAT’s 4/4 Renewed Hope Agenda feel highly impressed with the trajectory of the fight against insurgency, crimes and all forms of criminality in the country. We remain resolute in our support of the life changing programmes and policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under the all-encompassing Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.
