The Bishop of United Baptist Mission of Nigeria, Rt Revd Usuanlele Osama, has urged the National Assembly to discontinue efforts toward establishing State Police as Nigeria is not ripe for it yet. Speaking on Saturday to Tribune, the Prelate argued that police at the federal level should be better equipped and made to undergo reorientation instead of creating state police, which might become a tool of oppression against the opposition by governors.
“Even with the present police being operated by the central government, state governors still use them the way they like, because the order is that the state governor is the chief executive of a state, and so, it is a matter of giving instruction to the Commissioner of Police, who will immediately swing into action and do the biding of the governor.
"And if it’s at the state level, where the bulk stops at the table of the state governor, it won’t be surprising to see abuse of power and privilege. However, if those at the helm of affairs are well educated on the role of the police, even at the state level, they will work for the interest of the general populace, rather than for selfish intentions.”
