Lagos Assembly Rejects IG’s Stance on State Police

Posted by Thandiubani on Tue 07th May, 2024 - tori.ng

Speaker Mudashiru Obasa directed the Clerk to write to the IG and National Assembly, expressing the lawmakers’ disagreement with Egbetokun’s position.

The Lagos State House of Assembly has written the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun rejecting his stance on state police.

Speaker Mudashiru Obasa directed the Clerk to write to the IG and National Assembly, expressing the lawmakers’ disagreement with Egbetokun’s position.

This decision came after the IG opposed state police during a dialogue in April, citing Nigeria’s unpreparedness. The Assembly’s opposition was made public in a statement by Obasa’s Chief Press Secretary, Eromosele Ebhomele, on Monday.

“On the issue of state police, it is the submission of the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force that Nigeria is not yet mature and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police,” the IG, represented by AIG Ben Okolo, said at the event organised by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

However, speaking at plenary on Monday, Obasa, noted that the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, which the IG suggested could be merged, had not been able to solve the problems of accidents on roads and pipeline vandalism.

He wondered how effective they would be if they were merged with the police force.

“In Lagos State, we have the Security Trust Fund through which successive administrations, starting from that of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, have provided enormous support to the police command in Lagos. Yet, crime of different dimensions has continued.

“This shows that no matter what Egbetokun has proffered as a solution, such won’t solve our problem. The position of the IG is unacceptable,” Obasa said.

He added, “We strongly believe that if we have state police, we would be able to solve the issues of crime in our nation or reduce it to the minimum.

“As we have seen in other climes, the United Kingdom has different levels of policing just like the United States of America. So why should ours be different?”

Also declaring his support for state police, the lawmaker representing Ajeromi/Ifelodun Constituency 1, Sa’ad Olumoh, said each Nigerian state had a local security outfit in the semblance of state police.

“Today, which state does not have state police one way or the other? This is a cause that should be supported. For the IG to come out and say state police is not in the interest of Nigeria shows he is not considering the reality of insecurity on Nigerians,” Olumoh said.