Proponents of State Police as solution to upsurge in insecurity were disappointed yesterday by the National Economic Council (NEC).
The foremost economic advisory council chaired by the Vice President with governors as members, listed the issue but did not discuss it.
“State police was part of our agenda today (yesterday), but unfortunately, because of time demands… the presentations took a long time. We were unable to get to that bit of it.” Bayelsa State Governor Duoye Diri told reporters after the meeting.
But he added: “I can assure you that in our next meeting, that issue will be exhaustively discussed.”
The NEC last year requested governors to indicate whether or not they subscribed to state police.
At NEC December meeting it was announced that all 36 governors and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister have agreed to the idea.
The issue was not listed for discussion the NEC’s first meeting of the year in February.
It was also not discussed yesterday.
Yesterday’s meeting was attended by Rivers State sole administrator Ibok Ekwe Ibas.
Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, who was cynosure of all eyes having defected along with all Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) structure to the All Progressives Congress (APC), was called upon by the Vice President to say the opening prayer.
Diri briefed reporters along with Governors Hope Uzodimma(Imo), Biodun Oyebanji(Ekiti) and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa). Agriculture and Food Security Minister Abubakar Kyari was with them.
Diri said the council also emphasised the importance of modern solutions to the longstanding farmer-herder conflicts.
“What the Agriculture and Food Security ministry equally presented today(yesterday) shows that the sector is being modernised. More importantly, emphasis is being placed on cattle ranching and peace-building.
‘’We believe that the ministry’s presentation on cattle ranching is a modern solution to these issues,” Diri said.
NGF panel to partner security agencies
Governors, who constitute the biggest bloc in NEC, on Wednesday night received a briefing from Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Christopher Musa on efforts being taken by the military to stem the rising cases of attacks and killings by gunmen.
Apart from agreeing on an innovative security initiative to check the trend, the governors set up a subcommittee to collaborate with heads of security agencies.
Uzodimma read a communiqué by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
The communiqué partly reads: “The forum received a presentation from the Chief of Defence Staff on an innovative security initiative aimed at strengthening national and subnational capacity for early threat detection and coordinated response.
“The project envisions the phased deployment of advanced technology and infrastructure to improve surveillance, crisis management and public safety.
“Governors expressed support for the initiative’s objectives and underscored the importance of technology-driven solutions in addressing evolving security challenges at the state level.
”Governors also commended the CDS and indeed the Nigerian military for these valuable propositions and initiatives.”
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani expressed optimism that the rising number of killings would spur efforts at actualising state police concept.
Sani suggested the combination of force with non-kinetic approach in the efforts to address the trend.
He disagreed with the insinuation that the resurgence of killings was a reflection of the failure on the part of the governors.
“For me, the creation of state police will go a long way in addressing the issue of insecurity, particularly at the sub-national level. We have to look at other aspects, particularly looking at a non-kinetic approach,” he said.
Sule agrees with Alia on foreign attackers
Sule painted a sobering picture of life in rural communities terrorised by ‘’assailants’’ who he said, arrive in convoys of motorbikes, ‘’wielding AK-47 and even bazookas.’’
He described the attacks as ‘’a regional crisis’’ that ‘’we must put in efforts together to combat.’’
Sule agreed with his Benue State counterpart, Hycinth Alia, that the attackers are foreigners who enter Nigeria through porous northern borders.
“They look Fulani, but they don’t speak Hausa. They arrive with cattle and speak a distinct form of Fulfulde, not Hausa. They are not native herders. That tells you something. Security agencies have video evidence and language clues to help determine where they’re coming from,’’ the governor said.
Sule added that their activities had left many communities in the state in trauma
“It’s a challenging period any time you have a situation where people are killed, and you visit the area, you see the trauma,” he lamented.
The governor stressed the importance of coordinated regional action, highlighting Nasarawa’s ongoing joint operations with Plateau and Taraba states, especially in flashpoint areas like Bokos and Wamba.
“The problem we have in that particular place is completely different from the problem we had in Bassa,” he explained.
