Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi, says Nigeria is not ripe enough for state governments to have control of the police.
In recent years, there’s been perennial agitation, especially from governors and key stakeholders, for state policing.
Reacting to this, Bello said governors can be “ruthless and reckless” if given such power.
He opined that insecurity can be best addressed through collaboration between the people, state governments and federal government.
He noted that Nigeria is not ripe to accord governors with the power to control the police.
“The issue of state police, I’m afraid I don’t think I will support it wholeheartedly for now because we have not really matured politically to be able to maintain state police,” he said.
“Some of us can be very reckless or ruthless when it comes to use of state apparatus.
“But support systems and collaborations in the form of intelligence sharing and pointing out loopholes or areas that need improvement will solve the problem.”