1 week Ago
A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Segun Showunmi has called for the removal of “blanket immunity” for governors to checkmate them from abusing state police if established. Showunmi, a former governorship aspirant of PDP in Ogun State, argued that Nigeria was long overdue for state police, insisting that the Nigeria Police Force and its leadership have no excuse not to accept the creation of state police. Showunmi, a former spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation and national chairmanship hopeful of PDP, spoke on Sunday at a monthly “News File” programme, organised by the Consolidated Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital.
For many years, the idea of state policing in Nigeria has elicited mixed reactions from leaders and experts, with many Nigerians expressing fear that governors may hijack the control of state police if created. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun had rejected the idea of state police, arguing that the existing police force should be rather reformed. The IG, at a national dialogue on state police organised by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, had opposed the establishment of state police, saying the “state governors could use the police forces under their control for political or personal gain and undermine human rights and security.
” But, Showunmi in his submission said, the existing Federa.
