…Says the Failure to Protect Lives of the Innocent is Inexcusable
By Chibuike Nwabuko
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Federal government on Wednesday admitted that state police is the panacea for the myriad of insecurity bedeviling the country.
Sundiata Post recalls that Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbanjo made the declaration while declaring open the two-day National Security Summit which started today at the National Air Force (NAF) Conference Centre, Abuja.
According to Osinbajo, ” We cannot realistically police a country the size of Nigeria of about 180 million people centrally from Abuja, state police and other community policing methods are clearly the way to go”.
While reminding that security challenges in the country are complex, especially with the large population of the country, the Vice President however emphasized that “the failure to protect the lives of the innocent is inexcusable and we cannot rationalize and diminish that failure of our security apparatus of government in any way.”
“Every Nigerian is entitled to adequate security from government for their lives and livelihood. Government fails in that responsibility often but I must say never deliberately. Every killing demeans us as a people.
Osinbajo further said, “The nature of our security challenges are complex. Securing Nigeria’s over 900sq/km and its 180 million people requires far more than three times the number of men and materials in the Police, Army, Navy than we have at the moment. It also requires a continual reengineering of our security architecture and strategies.
“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.
“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.”
Recall that it was in view of the escalating threats to peace and security that the executive and legislative arms of government agreed to hold the two-days summit to put heads together, share ideas and map out strategies to rescue the country out the current security predicament.
The Vice President also used the ocassion to debunk insinuations that President Muhammadu had ignored killings of the herdsmen because he is Fulani, stressing that such insinuations are untrue and unfair.
“I have worked with him for three years now and I do not know of anyone issue that has given him more concern on which he has spent more time on security issues as this particular issue. What then is being done on security?”