Bagudu Clarifies Call for Community Policing

Ismail Adebayo in Birnin Kebbi

Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu yesterday acknowledged that he called for community policing in principle in the face of the country’s worsening security conditions.

Bagudu, however, observed that he was not an advocate of people carrying guns to defend themselves, noting that there should be debates on what kind of weapons should the community police carry.

He made the clarification at a session with journalists at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi on the occasion of Nigeria’s 62nd independence anniversary.

At the session, the governor said: “I support community policing. But I think what the debate should be is what kind of weapons they should be carrying and what they should be doing.

“I am not an advocate of people carrying guns to defend themselves. But if a local vigilante group decides to support our security agents, we cannot stop them to protect the community.”

The governor said the nation’s security agencies have been overstretched as such the country needs more policing to protect people in the various communities.

“I’m happy President Muhammad Buhari has approved the principle of community policing. I support whatever will secure the security of the community by whatever means.”

On the performance of his party, the APC at state and national levels, Bagudu said the party has done well. He said his administration in Kebbi State in the last seven years had given account of itself in different areas of the state’s economy.

He said: “We are happy that people appreciates what we have done in areas of near constant electricity supply, agriculture on the memorandum of understanding between Kebbi and Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited for ethanol production to make Kebbi one of the oil producing states, education, health care, rice production, investment opportunities and windows provided for private investors to thrive in Kebbi State.”

Bagudu also refuted the rumour making the rounds that all is not well between him and the party’s governorship candidate, Dr Nasiru Idris (Kauran Gwandu).

He said Nasiru “is a dependable and capable ally and also a capable governorship candidate of the APC in Kebbi State. We are having a cordial relationship. He was in Saudi Arabia when the British High Commissioner came to Kebbi, that was why he was not at the reception held for the High Commissioner. I will campaign rigorously for him when the time comes.”