The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has stated that State Police was the only solution to the killing of innocent Nigerians.
The lawmaker has been a frontline campaigner for the decentralisation of the nation’s policing system.
He maintained his ground when he appeared on Channels Television to discuss the issue.
He said funding and equipping the police with all manner of sophisticated weapons will not end killings in the country, using the killing of seven policemen during the week as an instance.
According to the Enugu-born politician, “Yes, we need all those mechanisms in place, but even if we provide them, the problem will still be there.
“In Abuja, for instance, we have all kinds of equipment the police are using, all kinds of weapons, and well trained policemen. But they killed seven policemen yesterday.
“I am not even talking about citizens, who die on daily basis and nobody accounts for them. I am talking about trained policemen.
“The criminal elements have overwhelmed the security sector. That is the issue. We need to do something. What we are talking about is decentralising the police.
“The first set of police we had in this country were Native Authority Police, not the National Police. The Ordinance of 1916 established the Native Authority Police in Nigeria. It was further enhanced in 1924.
“It was only in 1936 that the nationwide police was established. They all existed side by side until in 1966. That was why in those days, if you were selling groundnut, you could keep your groundnut in front of your house and go to the farm.
“Somebody would drop the money and pick the groundnut he or she wanted. You didn’t need to fence your house, or have a policeman following you around because there were policemen everywhere. That was how it was structured.”
