TheCable

Shehu Sani, former senator representing Kaduna central, says the north is against the creation of state police because governors could abuse them.

Sani said this when he featured on 90MinutesAfrica, an online interview programme, hosted by Rudolf Okonkwo and Chido Onumah.

He said Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, who supports the creation of state police today will oppose the idea when he becomes governor of the state in 2023.

The senator said as far as the reservation towards state police in the north is concerned “in as much as it will be good for local security, we also have a problem where it can be used by state governors to persecute political enemies and it becomes the armed wing of the ruling party in the state”.

“When we speak about that (state police), we speak about history. In the colonial times when the police were under the emirs, they were used to persecute people who were critical of the emirate system or the religious order. The ruling political party then, the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) used native police to go after critics,” he said.

Sani said he welcomed anything that could be done to restore law and order and security in the country, “but we have to be mindful that those instruments can be misused or abused”.

He added that he would not accept a police force that is directly under the control of his state governor.

“He (Gov el-Rufai) may be in power today, he wants state police. After May 29 next year and I take over Kaduna State, ask him his views. Should Shehu Sani be in charge of the state police? I don’t know whether he will say give him all the powers to control state police. I have met many governors and we discussed. They supported state police while in power and out of power they don’t support state police,” he said.

“If you give them (governors) state police and state prisons, the opposition and social media critics will fill the prisons each time you write anything against them.

“I believe the very day state governors have the control of the police, you can’t even post critical comments on Facebook and Twitter…who are going to be in the police force? They are going to be the supporters of the governor. The political forces of the governor will be the ones recruited into the police. They will be given uniform and empowered by law to act.”