Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has renewed his support for the creation of state police, saying it would give governors the authority they need to deal with insecurity and make them more accountable for protecting their people.
Lawal spoke on Thursday at the Arise News Town Hall Summit on Building a National Consensus for State Police and National Security, held at the Thisday Dome in Abuja.
The governor said insecurity has continued across many states because governors do not control the police command structure, even though they are called chief security officers.
"We're being called chief security officers of our respective states; however, the command and control structure is not under the governors," Lawal said.
He added that state police would allow governors to carry out their security responsibilities more effectively.
"I am happy with the recent development of state police because it allows us to keep to our responsibilities and for our people also to hold us accountable as far as the security situation is concerned in our respective states," he said.
Lawal also said, "I strongly believe that, by the time we have state police, it will go a long way in solving a lot of the challenges, and we can then bear our names as proper chief security officers of our respective states."
Responding to concerns that governors could misuse state police, Lawal said many states already operate local security outfits without using them to suppress political opponents.
"I support state police.
"I recognise people's fears of possible abuse, but with the right processes in place, those fears will be allayed," he said.
The summit brought together governors, lawmakers, security chiefs, traditional rulers, civil society groups and policy experts to discuss state police and other national security reforms as Nigeria continues to battle widespread insecurity.
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