The Nigeria Governors’ Forum
(NGF) Secretariat on Tuesday said governors of the 36 states have collectively
spent more than N2 trillion in augmenting police operations nationwide in the
last decade alone.
Mr Abdulrazaque Barkindo, Head,
Media and Public Affairs, who made this known in Abuja, said the amount, was
outside the contributions of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe states, hitherto
referred to as the frontline states and critical flashpoints at the peak of the
war against insurgency in the country.
He said that the revelation was
part of a research conducted by the media department of the NGF monthly
magazine “The Executive Summary” July edition.
He said that the purchases by the
governors have covered such items as Hilux trucks, Armoured Personnel carriers,
Helicopters, River Gun Boats, Horses, Communication equipment, uniforms and
handcuffs among others.
“For example, the magazine which
has as its cover story State Police: The Time is Now, related that in 2015
alone Lagos State, under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode spent over N4.765bn on
helping to sustain the Federal Police.
“It also reported that in
subsequent years going forward, the state also bought and donated to the
police, 100 four-door Saloon cars, 55 Ford Ranger Pick-up trucks and 10 Toyota
Landcruiser Pick-up trucks.
“These also include 15 BMW
power-bikes, 100 Isuzu trucks, three helicopters, two gunboats, 15 Armoured
Personnel Carriers, revolving lights, sirens, communication gadgets, helmets,
handcuffs among many other police requirements,” he said.
Barkindo added that looking at
the donations in retrospect, Ambode’s predecessor, Babatunde Raji Fashola also
donated 50 patrol vehicles, 10 Armoured Personnel carriers, 100 walkie-talkies and
200 bullet-proof jackets.
He added that the state
government also established an ICT Resource Centre for the police in Lagos
State.
“It is not Lagos alone that has
donated generously to the police. Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Cross Rivers, Ebonyi and
Abia States have all, at various times, donated generously to the police force
towards ensuring the safety and security of their peoples and their property,”
he added.
He recalled that in July 2017 the
Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris approached the NGF at their meeting
in Aso Rock Villa seeking cap-in-hand, the sum of N3trilion as assistance from
states.
He said that the magazine also
quoted the lamentations of some of the state governors, who in spite of these
donations had been unable to enjoy even the partial loyalty of the federal
police at their most critical hour of need.
He said that Governor Darius
Ishaku of Taraba State, for example, was quoted in the magazine as saying “I am
sitting here as governor, but I cannot control one police troop whenever crises
break in my state.”
“His Zamfara State counterpart
and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar had, at
one time, even relinquished his position as the Chief Security Officer of his
state, in frustration.
“The report added that even Benue
State, which very recently had its state assembly sealed and overtaken by the
Nigeria Police Force, had spent a substantial part of its security vote in
ameliorating the problems of the same police force that was to later humiliate
the state.
“Indeed, to give spice to the
argument for the agitation of the states, the National Assembly only recently
lent its voice to the agitation by state governors and also endorsed the
formation of state police, saying it is about time.
“Most others who canvas the same
position as the governors allude to the countries whose system Nigeria is
emulating, saying community policing is a necessity if crime is to be prevented
and insurgency is to be curtailed to the barest minimum,” he added.
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