By Monday Ijeh
The Pioneer Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Chief Simon Okeke, has called for the establishment of state police to curb the increasing rate of insecurity in the country.
Okeke made the call in Abuja at the public presentation of a book, “My Stewardship, Compendium of PSC Media Engagements, 2013-2025”.
The public presentation of the book, written by Mr Ikechukwu Ani, the Head of Press and Public Relations of PSC, heralds his official retirement from the Public Service after 60 years of age.
Okeke said the increasing rate of insecurity was unacceptable, adding that certain decisions must be taken to address the insecurity in the land.
“Unless and until this country goes into allowing the states to be responsible for their security, we cannot make headway.
“Security is very crucial, so, state government should be responsible for the security of lives and property within their confines,” he said.
He said the current constitutional provision that the governors are the chief security officers of their state cannot be realistic without governors having control of policing in the states.
He said the concerns raised over abuse of state police by the state governors could be address through legislation.
“There must be advantage and disadvantage in whatever you do, but I believe that the National Assembly will approve checks and balances to avoid the abuse,” he said.
He congratulated Ani and his family for a meritorious service to the country and attainment of 60 years of age.
In his remark, Ani said he had been the head of press and public relations of PSC for about 12 years, under different chairmen.
“I did my best to give the commission what should keep them in the media space and I thank the media for the cooperation,” he said.
He said the book was about his engagement with the media from 2022 to 2025, policies and how the media was used to promote accountability in policing.
“So, what we have done now is that when people look at the book, from each successive administration of the commission, they all have what they did for the commission.
“That is, because even when I was not the head of the unit, I was the deputy head. So, I have the history of the commission,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz
