"Govs should be stripped of immunity if they want state police"

Abdulmumin Jibrin, a Kano lawmaker representing Kiru/Bebeji federal constituency, says governors should be stripped of immunity if state police must be created.

Jibrin said the governors cannot enjoy immunity and have control over the police at the same time.

Nigerian state governors are immune to prosecution while in office.

The lawmaker said if the argument for state police succeeds, “you cannot give the governors state police and give them immunity”.

“After all who wants immunity? All the governors are saints, aren’t they? So if they are going to take state police, give it to them and take their immunity,” he said during a recent chat with journalists in Abuja.

He said his opposition to state police is predicated on most state’s inability to pay salaries.

According to Jibrin, “they (governors) cannot even pay salary at the moment. When you go and take a sensitive institution like the police and keep in the state, and you can’t pay salaries, state police might even turn out to be counter-productive”.

He added: “Rather than create state police, why don’t you increase contribution from your own allocations to the federal government to increase the size of the force. And they already have the structure and everything to do their job.”

YES OR NO FOR STATE POLICING?

The house of representatives recently passed for second reading a bill seeking to establish state police.

The senate had passed a similar bill for first reading on July 12 but Abu Ibrahim, chairman, senate committee on police affairs, subsequently said there is no way it will get a majority vote.

President Muhammadu Buhari in May expressed reservation over state policing, saying it will amount to increased financial burden.

Most governors in the country have expressed support for the establishment of state police as a measure to address the nation’s security challenges.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) restructuring committee also recommended it.