A former Inspector-General of Police and Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Dr. Solomon Arase, has warned state governors against abuse of state police.
The Chairman of the PSC said measures must be put in place to checkmate any form of abuse of the initiative.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu on Thursday met with the 36 state governors over the rising insecurity and kidnapping in the country and considered the establishment of state police to curb the menace.
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Arase, who made this known on: Inside Sources with Laolu Akande,” a Channels Television programme, on Friday, stressed the need to check the excesses of state governors over state policing.
The PSC boss suggested that members of civil society organisations, lawyers of repute, traditional rulers and religious leaders should be empowered to appoint Commissioners of Police under the state police system as part of measures to checkmate the governors.
He said: “Policing is local.
“Crime is environmental.
“State police is what we should be thinking about, but then, there must be some safeguards put in place, like: Is the governor going to be the one to appoint a commissioner of police and deputy commissioner of police?
“In order areas, the governor does not have control over the appointment of police commissioners.
“The truth about it is that if we are going to have state police, our political culture must be such that it accommodates opposition.
“Most of our governors, if they have control over the police apparatus, their opposition won’t be able to campaign anywhere.
“We want to see more prosecution.
“Prosecution is a deterrence to others who want to go that route.
“The number of arrests in the past eight years is quite huge, but it is not commensurate with the prosecution.
“You cannot attract investment in a place where there is no consequence for crimes committed.”