The Anglican Archbishop of Ughelli Diocese, Rt. Reverend Cyril Odutemu and a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Chris Okey Ezike, have backed the establishment of State Police in Nigeria as a solution to curb insecurity in the country.
The duo spoke in Abuja, during the 2019 Adult Harvest for the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Diocese Church of Abuja (Anglican Communion).
They said the establishment of the security arm was necessary because Nigeria is a “large and diverse federation’’, adding that to effectively police the people, they must be involved.
Bishop Odutemu said the insecurity challenges in Nigeria were not the problem of the President alone, but a problem to be managed by all citizens.
‘’I am not telling anybody to pick up arms, but we must protect ourselves through legal means. At this point I must say that state policing and education are needed to combat insecurity because the local people know the enemies better but together, we are better to build our nation,” he said.
On his part, Ezike, who is also the Chairman of the Adult Harvest Organizing Committee, decried that the nation is under-policed going by the
United Nation standard for policing.
He noted that effective policing around the world is now technologically driven and also intelligence-driven.
His words: ‘’Community policing is the way out of every security challenge in the country. This country is under the police. If you want to fashion out how you police a place the people must be involved and that is community police. Traditional rulers must be involved too.
‘’Generally speaking, a structural adjustment is needed in our nation. We are under police and under-equipped. Policing around the world is now technologically driven and also intelligence-driven.’’