Anayo Ezugwu 
…Urges Sanwo-Olu to equip Neighbourhood Safety Corp
Lagos State House of Assembly has asked the National Assembly to urgently begin a constitutional amendment process that would allow state police in all the states of the federation.
The lawmakers in a resolution at the end of its first plenary to begin the 10th Assembly on Tuesday, said that the growing insecurity in the country would not be resolved without state police.
They urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to equip the state Neighbourhood Watch to support the police in fighting insecurity in the state.
The Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, said the current police structure lacks adequate personnel to police the country.
Obasa said, “The major factor that has been responsible for this issue in our country, states, local governments and communities have been linked to insecurity because we lack the personnel to police and monitor our society.
“As I said in every Assembly, we have been requesting for state police, while I commend the 9th National Assembly who did a lot in amending our constitution. But there is a need for us to call on the 10th National Assembly to see it as a matter of urgency right now that they have been sworn in and not wait till the end of the 10th Assembly before they commence amendment.
“They should see the issue of state police as an urgent and burning important and necessary national issue so that we will have enough police to reduce unnecessary killings, kidnappings and all other security challenges we are having in our society.
“On this note, I want to bring this before us that we should as a matter of urgency from now till the time this mission is achieved. We call on the Senate President and all senators and Speaker of the House of Representatives and all honourable members that they should please take this up.
“It is a very crucial issue that has to do with the protection of life and property in our society. I think we should make this a double-edged sword. While we are calling on the National Assembly to further amend the constitution so that it can accommodate state police.
“We should also take that privilege to call on our governor as well to further equip Neighborhood Safety Corp and improve their security capacity through conferences and seminars. Security does not really have to do with carrying arms it is more important in gathering evidence in communities that can be utilized to prevent crime in our society.
“In addition to that they should be equipped with the necessary equipment because the last time they were given equipment was during Governor Ambode. If we can’t get state police now let us make use of our own security apparatus in the state by equipping them.”
On his part, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House, David Setonji, appealed to the National Assembly to support the fight against insecurity by amendment of the constitution to allow state police.
Setonji said, “This issue of state police has become over-flooded and we must continue to say it because this is a serious matter.
“I want to recall a few events that happened recently in Lagos State, I recalled the issue of a young man that was killed by a trigger-happy policeman for no just reason. Also, another young man around Ajah was also killed just like that.
“There are so many killings all over the place and because we don’t have state police we can’t monitor some of these activities.
“That is why we are pleading once again to the federal government and the National Assembly especially to come up with the relevant amendment to the constitution so that the states can have police.
“Can you imagine that a state like Lagos with a population of over 24 million people has less than 200,000 policemen? So, we need the states to take charge of their policing.
“All over the world, we have state police, local government police and we have national police, why are we different in Nigeria?
“We appeal to the federal government especially the National Assembly to bring this up again so that the states can have their policing system. For instance, the Lagos State government cannot employ police and that is why the Honourable Speaker came up with the Neighborhood Watch and it has assisted us tremendously. But we need the states to have policing system that is conducive for our people.”
Another lawmaker representing Surulere Constituency I, Desmond Elliot, said the duty of government is to protect lives and properties. He urged the National Assembly to support President Bola Tinubu in addressing insecurity by amending the constitution to accommodate state police.
Elliot said, “We at the Lagos State House of Assembly have promised that we will follow this issue as we keep reminding ourselves and the government that the need for security as a watchword for this state is paramount.
“We have many cases of insecurity across the nation even in our state called Lagos, we have security breaches during traffic. When there is traffic you see people robbing motorists and all that. We need to have more security apparatus in terms of personnel. People must feel safe.
“People travelling at night or moving from one place to another must feel safe. I totally agree with you that we must at the beginning of this 10th Assembly, begin to let people concerned, the National Assembly do the needful.”
