Worried by the spate of killings in the country and the seeming failure of the current centralised police system to handle internal security challenges, the Senate, yesterday, resolved to expeditiously pass a law to establish state and community police in Nigeria.
The apex legislative chamber is of the view that such was a way of finding lasting solution to the endless killings in Nigeria.
To get the law in place as quickly as possible, the Senate mandated its Committee on Constitution Review, headed by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, to start work on the process immediately and report to the Senate in two weeks’ time.
The chamber also mandated its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to come up with a bill for creation of Truth, Peace and Reconciliation Commission within the next two weeks, towards putting on ground, a platform for promotion of peace and unity in Nigeria.
The Red Chamber also resolved to expedite action on Police Reform Bill already before it, to get it passed as a way of invigorating the Police to be more active in tackling the enormous internal security challenges bedevilling the nation.
These resolutions were reached sequel to prolonged debate by the senators on the recent killings that took place in Plateau State, and other parts of the country.
The debate was provoked by a motion moved by Senator David Jonah Jang (PDP, Plateau South).
The lawmakers condemned in strong terms the wanton killings in the land and the obvious helplessness of the security agencies, particularly the country’s centralised Police Force.
Jang, while presenting the motion, said that a total of 155 people were killed in the last Plateau attack by herdsmen, out of which 98 were from Mangu Local Government.
Jang, who is a former Plateau State Governor, said that the way the killings were carried out for several hours by the attackers without any of the security agencies in the centralized security architecture responding, further made it imperative for decentralization of the Police system in the country to be implemented without further delay.
In his contribution, Ekweremadu said that as long as the country refused to do the right thing in terms of state setting up state police, the wanton killings in the land would continue.
“I have been saying it here anytime issues of senseless killings in the land come up that creation of state police is the way out since the centralized police have proved to be incapable of addressing the problem.
“By tomorrow (today) or next, a bill for constitutional provision for state and community policing, shall be sponsored by me in this chamber,” he said.
Senators Solomon Adeola (APC, Lagos West), Godswill Akpabio (PDP, Akwa Ibom), Barnabas Gemade (APC, Benue North East) and Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central), among others supported the call for creation of state police as the surest way out of the problem.
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