TheCable

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has endorsed the creation of state police, saying it would help tighten security situation across the country.

Osinbajo said this at a security summit organised by the senate.

He said state policing system is the way to go because having a centralised system cannot effectively secure the nation.

“For a country our size, to meet the one policeman to 400 persons according to the UN prescribed ratio, we would require almost triple the number of our current police force. Far more funding for the military and security agencies is required,” he said.

“We cannot police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. State police and other community policing methods are clearly the way to go.

“The nature of our security challenges are complex. Securing Nigeria’s over 900sq/km and its 180 million people requires far more men and materials than we have at the moment. It also requires a continual re-engineering of our security architecture and strategies. This has to be a dynamic process.”

The vice-president also said that no land would be forcibly taken to create ranches.

He said 13 states had agreed to provide about 5,000 hectares of land for the creation of these ranches.

“Let me reiterate that on no account will any land be seized or forcefully taken to create ranches or grazing areas. All insinuations to that effect should be disregarded,” he said.

“Instead, it is in our view that states that are willing should cooperate even with willing investors into commercially viable government supported ranches or livestock production centers for commercial use.”

He said there would be adequate consultation with all stakeholders to ensure that the solutions to clashes between herdsmen and farmers would benefit everyone.

Osinbajo’s endorsement of state police comes less than one week after former military President Ibrahim Babangida said the time had come for the decentralisation of the police force.

State police is also among the recommendations of the restructuring committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).