Amid sustained requests from President Bola Tinubu in the last week to the National Assembly to tinker with the amendment of the Constitution to accommodate State Police, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Ayodele Arise, has urged the Presidency to collaborate with state governors to create a window for enlightenment to secure the buy in of those with strong reservations for state policing.
Senator Arise made this suggestion on Saturday during a live program on Arise TV.
President Tinubu, during an interfaith breaking of fast with Senate leadership and members at the State House in Abuja earlier this week, emphasised that it is time for lawmakers to “start thinking” about including state policing in the Constitution so that subnational governments can better secure their territories.
He said: “Nigeria is extremely challenged, we are facing terrorism, banditry, insurgency, but you never failed to make a right response to these calls. What I will ask for tonight is for you to start thinking how best to amend the Constitution to incorporate the state police for us to secure our country, take over our forests from marauders, free our children from fear.”
President Tinubu restated his demand on Friday when he met with the leadership of the House of Representatives.
Senator Arise maintained that effective communication of the gains of state policing was necessary as he recalled that it has always been a contentious issue with a certain section of the country opposed to it.
He said: “In the interest of our country and in response to the security challenges that we have been facing, President Tinubu has always seen the merit in State policing which is actually the best way that we can deter criminals and their cells that exist in our communities without even knowing it.
“The local police are easily able to identify a strange situation and put intelligence to work, do their investigation and before they are able to do damage because they are trained to know everybody because they relate with everyone like a family.
“So that has been the major attraction of State and local policing.
“Now, in terms of the National Assembly, I am sure you know that the President is a very strategic person in his thinking and a number of policies that we think would not pass the National Assembly,he has been able to achieve them. I don’t see any problem with the National Assembly.
“I only will encourage a lot of education about the pros and cons of State Police to be actually done in terms of marketing to those who were initially opposed to it. “And I said initially because in 2010 when we tried to introduce State Police in constitutional amendment, we had opposition, those who were against it but I believe now people have seen the benefits of having security because lives are being threatened, communities are being almost annihilated and of course we see attacks everywhere. Nobody wants to waste his life and so whatever the President can do, I believe is one of his very good strategies to ensure that security of lives and property of Nigerians are guaranteed.
” I will suggest to the National Assembly, the area of amendment is section 214 can be done, first by moving policing to the Concurrent List. That will solve the problem, the Federal will have its Police while the states can have their Police. “People must understand that the fact that we have State Police doesn’t completely erase the Federal Police.
“I believe that has been a major problem with some of our leaders with State Police because they couldn’t understand why they will easily surrender all these enormous powers which invariably at the end of the day amounts to nothing because if the job isn’t being done, we are all in a sort of risk.
On the timeline for amendment and establishment, he expressed confidence that it could be done in months as he noted that aside having a comfortable majority in both chambers of parliament, the ruling party also controls 36 States.