By Philomina Attah
A legal practitioner, Mrs Bunmi Aina-Craig, has warned that allowing governors to control the funding and appointments of state police personnel would trigger widespread political repression across the nation.
Aina-Craig, the immediate past President of the National Association of Catholic Lawyers (Abuja Chapter), gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
She emphasised that vesting operational control and appointment powers in governors would automatically turn the security outfits into personal tools for harassing political opponents.
According to her, decentralised policing is a better way to tackle the nation’s security challenges.
She noted that the current mechanism being considered by the National Assembly contains dangerous structural flaws.
”When you give a governor power to appoint and pay, you only build a personal security apparatus.
“He will use it to create chaos,” she said.
To avert crisis, Aina-Craig urged President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to look beyond politics and constitutionally guarantee full independence for the new security forces.
She proposed creating an independent State Police Service Commission to handle recruitment, promotions, and discipline, effectively removing politicians from the management process.
”The commission should comprise professional bodies like the NBA, the judiciary, civil society, and traditional rulers. It should be headed by a retired judge,” she added.
She emphasised that direct, independent funding from the federation account is critical because governors would always manipulate any security force they financially bankroll.
The legal practitioner urged Nigerians to always think out of the box, noting that the 1999 Constitution must be amended to serve the people’s security interests.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Mark Longyen