The Senate has called for the de-centralisation of the police and the need for community policing as a way of addressing the country’s insecurity problems.
This formed part of the recommendations of the Senate ad hoc committee on the security challenges plaguing the nation which was considered and approved during plenary on Tuesday.
Salient Times recalls that the Senate had set up the ad hoc committee on the state if insecurity on January 29, under the chairmanship of the Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi.
Senate spokesman, Senator Ajibola Basiru, said in a statement that the committee in its report, made wide ranging recommendations which were also approved by the Senate.
According to him, the Senate urged the executive to direct the Ministry of Police Affairs and the inspector general of police to decentralize the police command structure with operational and budgetary powers vested in the zonal commands.
The Senate also urged the federal government to set up zonal security advisory committees at each zonal command to advise on the security challenges facing each zone.
The composition of the zonal advisory council as proposed by the Senate would include governors, the zonal assistant inspector general of police, state commissioners of police, state directors of the Department of State Services (DSS), zonal immigration officers, zonal customs officers and representative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Others are representative of the Nigeria Correctional Service, chairmen of state traditional rulers council, faith-based leaders, civil society representatives, representative of senators, representative of members of the House of Representatives, representatives of the business community and labour as well as any person or persons deemed to be useful, and relevant, taking into account the socio-cultural peculiarities of the zone.
Recommendations were also made for the expansion of state security councils and the constitution of area command, local government and ward level advisory councils.
The Senate accordingly, urged the federal government to direct the Ministry of Police affairs and the inspector general of police to immediately implement the community policing strategy involving local stakeholders at the grassroots, and traditional rulers with a view to addressing local security challenges.
While urging state assemblies to make necessary laws to legalize community policing to be established at local government levels, the Senate called on state governors to fund community policing from grants appropriated to each local government.
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