A former lawmaker and outspoken social critic, Senator Shehu Sani, has described as a mirage and a recipe for anarchy, the proposed establishment of state police in the country.
Sani stated this in a post via his verified X handle.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that the Federal Government had recently hinted about the likelihood of embracing state police.
The development followed an emergency meeting between President Bola Tinubu and state governors at the Aso Rock Villa.
The meeting was a sequel to the recent hike in food prices, economic hardship, and pockets of insecurity recorded nationwide.
Reacting to the development, the former lawmaker expressed worry that state police will be an armed wing of the ruling party of each state.
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He stated, “The state police will be used by the governors to persecute the opposition,to harass ‘non indigenes’,to rig elections and to counter the federal police in cases of conflict of interest between the federal government and the state.
“Most of the state ruling party thugs will be recruited into the state police,” he added.
Specifically, President Tinubu approved the establishment of a committee comprising state governors and representatives of the Federal Government to, among other things, explore modalities for establishing state police.
The President and the state governors also discussed the possibility of improving the numerical strength of forest rangers to train them so that they can keep our forests and borders very safe.
Following a spike in insecurity across the country, there have been calls by some stakeholders and ethnic nationalities groups for establishment of state police as was practiced in the First Republic before it was abolished by the Military.
Currently, many states have vigilante groups and the South-West zone has Amotekun The President also directed security chiefs especially the National Security Adviser, NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General of the Department of State Service, DSS, Yusuf Bichi; and the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, to crack down on those hoarding food commodities and bring them to book.