Senator Gershom Bassey has thrown his weight behind the calls for state police to address Nigeria’s security challenges, but wants better guardrails to prevent politicisation.
Bassey, who represented Cross River South in the 8th and 9th National Assembly, said this during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday.
“I’m fully in support of the state police. The only issue is how to regulate it and how to ensure that it is not misused and not used for political retribution and all that. So I think those are issues that can be tackled if we all put our minds together, but the general idea – I think – is a good idea,” the former lawmaker said on the breakfast show.
He said Nigeria is under-policed and needs “more levels of policing”.
“So since the 8th and 9th assembly, we had discussed the issue of state police, and I think the overwhelming consensus was that there was a need for more policing and particularly policing at different levels,” the Cross River-born politician stated.
READ ALSO: Tinubu Urges Senate To Amend Constitution For State Police Establishment
The Senator cited layers of policing in other parts of the world
“Whether we look at the United States or the United Kingdom, the idea of centralisation of the police force is actually an outlier in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is an outlier because most countries actually do different levels of policing, and I think it works better. It is able to free up the central police force to focus on more serious crimes, felonies, and so on,” he said.
While many have claimed state police will be politicised, the ex-lawmaker wants better regulation to prevent such from happening.
He suggested that the country bring in more “eggheads, people who have practised, ex-policemen and also some people to come together to give us solutions” to some of the challenges state police might create.
Calls for State Police Become Louder
The calls for state police have become louder in recent years, especially in the wake of heightened security challenges in Nigeria.
While many have recommended state police as a means to address the lingering insecurity in the country, critics believe it would be abused by governors.
But during an interfaith breakfast with senators last Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu asked the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to create a legal framework for the establishment of state police.
On Wednesday, Nigerian police authorities took a new step in that direction, setting up a committee on state police.
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