Niger Gov Makes Case for State Police

By Laleye Dipo

The Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has said that the time to allow states to have their own police has come in view of the increasing population of the country.

According to a statement in Minna on Tuesday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mary Noel Berje, Governor Bello, who was speaking at a security enhancement forum said: “We can’t continue to avoid the issue of state police forever, even if it’s not now certainly, sometime to come because Nigeria’s population has gone beyond 200 million.”

The governor also made a strong case for the incorporation of vigilantes into the country’s security architecture for the battle against insecurity to be won but insisted that members of the vigilante must be properly trained and people of impeccable character should be recruited into the group.

Similarly, Bello said traditional and religious leaders have tremendous roles to play in the fight to contain insecurity across the country because “our religious leaders and traditional rulers have immense influence over worshippers and their subjects”.

“In tackling kidnapping and banditry, the role of traditional rulers and religious leaders in our society cannot be over-emphasised. Traditional rulers and religious leaders should be supported to effectively check their domains and subjects,” the governor said.

Bello described bandits and kidnappers as mere criminals who are not ready to change their criminal behaviours owing to its lucrative nature, adding that his administration therefore decided not to pay ransom to the criminals because the criminals have grown into a very formidable network with handy informants.

“When we have tipoff and troops are deployed, the bandits get wind of their movement and relocate,” he said.

Bello however said that his administration has suffered immensely as a result of the activities of bandits and kidnappers despite the government offering to reconcile with the bandits and kidnappers.