A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke, has declared that considering had level of insecurity in the country, no amount of money spent in establishing State Police Will be a waste.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Port Harcourt yesterday, Nwuke stated that It is not about the money we are going to spend setting up this state police, it is about the will to tackle criminality.
He further stated that the personnel of the current Nigeria Police Force can’t even identify the criminal elements within the community and are not trained to master the terrain of the areas where men have been sent to work.
Nwuke, who represented Etche/Puma Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, said considering the rise in insurgence, militancy, kidnappings, the nation must find a new way forward.
“I think that this is not the time we should hesitate to take action. The system of centralised policing which has been in place since independence has served this country and there has been witnesses.
“We have a situation where the conventional police was unable to deal with major issues, securing lives, securing properties. And if you are looking at the number of policemen per square metre that are looking after the Nigerian people, you will find out that it is not sufficient.
“So, those who are pulling the idea of state policing are right, to the extent that the force we have now can’t even identify the criminal elements in our midst, to the extent that the kind of policemen that we have now are not trained to master the terrain of the areas where men have been sent to work, to try extent that, perhaps, in times like this insurgence, militancy, kidnapping have become prevalent.
“Then, it means that the nation must find a new way forward. It is not about the money we are going to spend setting up this state police, it is about the will to tackle criminality. That is what makes state police something that appeals to me as a person.
“In all of these, I believe that we will spend money setting up this force but we must set up a force that will be responsible largely in response to pressures from the environment, able to deal with some of these issues that we are worried about.
“Some people have said how do we fund it? They are right in raising these questions but let me ask, what do you defend, what do you protect when you do not have people living in peace, when people cannot sleep with their two eyes closed. So, no amount of money spent on establishing the state police, in my view would be a waste,” the former federal lawmaker said.
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