Ohanaeze reacts to presidential panel recommendation on state police

…says it’s a good step, but not enough

... Buhari has not approved recommendations – Presidency 

Apex Igbo sociocultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has reacted to the recommendation for state and local government police made by a panel set up by Presdient Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, noting that while it would be a step in the right direction for the president to implement it, it was not enough to tackle the country’s challenges.

Ohanaeze national deputy publicity  secretary, Mr. Chucks Ibegbu who stated this in a chat with Business Hallmark, insisted that tackling the country’s challenges needed a more holistic approach.

“You have to approach the issues holistically, either through a national conference or constitutional changes,” Ibegbu said. “It is not done through fiat or through presidential panel. It is done through deliberations by the people.”

Ibegbu noted, however, that given the country’s growing security challenges, state police had become necessary, even as he said that measures must be put in place to ensure that governors don’t abuse it.

“We want policing that would be nearer to the people,” he said. “But there has to be structures to ensure that it is not abused. We have to look at state police and local government police properly. There is the argument that state governors will abuse it. We saw what happened in the first republic when people abused native police. So, there has to be provision to checkmate the tendency for governors or local government chairpersons using the police against their opponents. There has to be mechanisms for checks and balances.”

A presidential panel, tagged ‘Presidential Panel on SARS Reform (2018)’ set by Mr Buhari in August 2018, had submitted its report on Monday, recommending among other things, state and local government police.

The panel was headed by the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Tony Ojukwu. Other members included representatives of the Police Servicce Commission, Public Complaints Commission, Inspector General of Police and others.

“The panel called for and received 113 complaints on alleged human rights violations from across the country and 22 memoranda on suggestions on how to reform and restructure SARS and the Nigeria Police in general,” Mr Ojukwu said.

Apart from recommending the establishment of “state and local government police”, the panel also recommended “37 police officers for dismissal from the force.”

The establishment of police has continued to gain popularity amid growing security issues in the country and has been a major demand of those who seek restructuring of the country to true federal state.

Meanwhile, the presidency has said Buhari has not approved the recommendation contrary to speculations in certain quarters.

A statement by Senior Special Adviser to the President on media,  Garba Shehu, on Monday, said Buhari has only directed that a three-man panel  be set up and a white paper produced in three months.

The white paper, Shehu noted, will form the basis for whatever action the president will take regarding the recommendation.