President Muhammadu Buhari has given reasons for the delay in approving community policing in Nigeria as the inability of states to pay workers' salaries. Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, speaking on behalf of Buhari said the president was particular about the sustenance of the community policing arrangement, hence the delay with his assent. Shehu also disclosed that the president was worried about the proliferation of arms, hence the delay.
Before now, states across the country had clamoured for community policing to tackle peculiar security challenges in the localities.
Garba said "For President Muhammadu Buhari, the concern has always been about the spread and abuse of weapons in the hands of police.
"He said repeatedly that, look, a lot of the states that had clamoured for state police, many of them are unable to cope with salary payment.
"If you hire a community policeman and give him a gun, and keep him for five, six months without salary, what do you expect?
Similarly, the Police Command in Enugu State has explained that the screening of candidates for community policing officers in the state will begin on August 26 at the command's headquarters in Enugu.
The command's Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, in a statement on Tuesday in Enugu, said the three-day screening would last till August 28, from 7.30 am each day.
