Ekweremadu restates call for state police

Ekweremadu stated this in his New Year message to Nigerians contained in a statement issued by his media aide, Uche Anichukwu, on Monday. He said Nigeria could not be effectively secured under the current policing arrangement and urged all political leaders to work for the immediate realisation of state police in the coming year. Ekweremadu said, “At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it needs to be reiterated that we cannot continue to do the same thing that has failed us over the years and hope to get a different result. “The huge losses of lives and property incurred by the nation in 2018 can be avoided in the years ahead. Nigeria is the only federal system in the entire world that operates a unitary police system. “We had sub-national police services from the colonial period up to 1966 and Nigeria was better off. Centralised policing has failed us woefully and we have to revert to what works in other federal jurisdictions to effectively combat the security challenges facing the country. “There is currently a bill for the creation of state police before the National Assembly, which I sponsored along with several of my colleagues. That bill also takes care of the fears expressed by many, including the fear of possible abuse by state governors.”]]>