The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has asked the National Assembly to revisit the bill seeking to establish state police, with a view to making it independent of the federal government.
Rising from its caucus meeting on Thursday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the group specifically urged the National Assembly to place state police on the Constitution’s concurrent list. It stated its position in a communique sent to journalists after the meeting.
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Both chambers of the National Assembly recently passed a bill to establish state police to tackle Nigeria’s lingering security challenges. The constitutional amendment bill will, however, require the approval of two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly before it is transmitted to the president for assent. Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, in a statement on Sunday, said the proposed legislation was “purely a child of necessity and not of political expediency as well as a product of national consensus and not of cynicism.”
While some political parties and groups have rejected the bill outright, Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, called for the suspension of the implementation of state police until after the 2027 general election.
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Need for review
While lauding President Bola Tinubu and the federal legislature for their efforts to ensure that state police become a reality, Afenifere noted that the bill contained areas that needed review.
“However, there are some areas in the Bill that need to be reviewed—areas that tend to make the proposed State Police appendages of the federal government. In other words, there are clauses in the Bill that tend to strengthen the stronghold of the federal government on state police rather than liberalising it,” the group stated.
Abduction of pupils and teachers
Afenifere also expressed concerns about the abduction of pupils and teachers in three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, as well as other kidnap incidents occurring in different parts of Yorubaland and Nigeria.
Afenifere, while sympathising with the families of the victims, urged the authorities to work harder to ensure the abductees are freed as soon as possible.
“It’s about 50 days now since the incident in Oriire Local Government Area occurred. It is a great pity that the victims have not been rescued yet. We feel highly disturbed that these innocent Nigerians are going through avoidable trauma. Actions must be expedited to get them out of the den of the bandits as quickly as possible,” it stated.
The group also called on the governors of the Yoruba states (including Kogi and Kwara) to take more decisive action to address the insecurity that seems to be imperilling free movement in parts of Yorubaland.
It also commended the efforts of the military and other security agencies regarding security issues in the region. It, however, recommended that security agencies be further strengthened through additional equipment, morale-boosting measures, and enhanced kinetic and non-kinetic security measures.
Afenifere urged the government and security agencies, including the military, to look inward, as insecurity continues to fester due to internal collaborators. It added that such a searchlight should also be beamed on local communities, as there are collaborators among them.
“By the same token, sponsors of illegal mining should also be profiled, as there are allegations that people are being forced out of their lands only for mining to take place in the area almost immediately after bandits displaced the people,” the group noted.
Afenifere reiterated its position on restructuring, stating that it believes restructuring will greatly assist in and hasten the realisation of the noble objective of development. The body acknowledged the efforts of the Tinubu administration towards restructuring but urged him to do more.
Attacks on hostels
Regarding the attacks on some hostels at the Osun State University, the group said, “The meeting received the news of the attacks. We are shocked to learn that army recruits from the Nigerian Army Depot, Osogbo, Osun State, allegedly carried out the attacks. As reported, the attacks resulted in the robbing of students, manhandling some of them, and inappropriately harassing some female students.”
The communique added, “It is gratifying to note that at least five of the recruits have been arrested as suspects. Afenifere is calling on the authorities to dig to the root of this incident with a view to ensuring that such a thing does not happen anywhere anymore.
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“The body is highly disturbed to note that this happened, not from the notorious bandits that we have always heard about, but from the hands of young Nigerians being trained to go and protect the citizens and defend their country. It is, therefore, very important to bring the heavy hand of the law upon them, as they are likely to constitute a great danger to society. This incident also calls for proper rejigging of how candidates for positions in our security agencies are recruited and trained.”
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