The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has called for the establishment of state police to fight insecurity in Nigeria.
Wike spoke on Wednesday when Ms. Agnes Callamard, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
According to him, the creation of state police would help to resolve the current insecurity bedevilling the country.
He stressed that the present security structure makes it difficult for the Federal Police to respond quickly to security challenges.
The Governor said: “We believe that there should be state police for us to effectively fight crime in the country. Our system is fashioned towards the United States, which has Federal, State and Local Police. Each of them has their responsibilities. In the present situation, if a crime is committed, the Commissioner of Police will first report to the Inspector General of Police, before taking any action.”
Wike told the delegation that the government established the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency to support security agencies with information, but the agency was frustrated for political reasons.
“We established the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency which would have helped the security agencies with information, but it was politicised by the Federal Government when they sent the Army to ensure that it did not come to fruition.
“If the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency was allowed, probably we would have solved part of the security problems,” he added.
Governor Wike reiterated that if the amended Electoral Act had been assented to by the President, electoral violence would have been reduced to the barest minimum, as there wouldn’t have been any incentive to snatch materials and manipulate the electoral process.
He berated the Army for perpetuating violence during the 2019 elections, saying the negative action of the Army was such that several embassies were shocked.
Ms. Callamard said she is interested in documenting the nature and extent of killings by state and non-state actors.
“I am interested on how the Federal and state governments respond to the challenges of violence by state and non-state actors. I would be grateful if you will share with us, information on killings by the state and non-state actors.”
