Dickson: Restructuring, state police will end insecurity

The Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, has said re-structuring and establishment of state police would end insecurity in the country. He spoke yesterday in a lecture to participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Abuja.

Speaking on the topic; “Cultural Values, National Security and the Challenges of Contemporary Governance: Perspectives from the Bayelsa Experience”, he noted: “It is very clear that Nigeria’s lopsided federal system, over centralization of security powers and the politicization of security by the various agencies is a major cause of instability and poses a threat to national stability and security.”

He said there was no serious country where the appointment and removal of the Inspector General of Police was completely at the discretion of the president.

“The Constitution made the president the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, but not of the police, not of security and intelligence, for a reason, because those powers are very important and should be exercised from the bottom up,” he added.

He lamented the centralized control of security agencies, and how politicians of parties that control the center seek to play politics with security. He also noted that the governors of Benue, Taraba, Sokoto and Zamfara states would be in better position to mobilize and address security challenges without the abuse of the federal system.