A retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG),
Ambrose Aisabor, has enjoined the federal government to kick start the process
of sending an Executive Bill to the National Assembly for the amendment of the
country's constitution to give room for the creation state police.
He said the constitution has to be amended first
because what is in it presently states that there shall be only one Police
Force in the country, and no other police shall exist in any other part of the
country.
Aisabor, who gave the advice against the backdrop
of high crime rate in the country, said this is the right time to create state police,
asserting that Community Policing was not an alternative to state police.
According to him, "State police will
drastically solve our security challenges. You cannot decree community policing
from Abuja, community policing can only thrive in the states. The states are
in a better position to organise community policing."
On the closure of the country's land borders by the
federal government, the retired AIG described the action as 'barren exercise',
saying: "The federal government is only playing to the gallery."
Aisabor, who also said border closure would inconvenience
genuine travellers and traders, queried that "what happened to the ECOWAS Protocols
on the movement of goods and services within the sub-region?”
He said the closure of land borders based on security
and smuggling of goods was untenable and unrealistic, saying the action may
amount to economic suicide.
"We should not give room to our neighbouring
countries to also close their borders. We cannot afford any trade war with our
neighbours now due to the fragile nature of our economy," Aisabor advised,
noting that the array of security agencies manning the country's land borders
have no reason to have their presence if they cannot check crimes and
smuggling.
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