Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu says many states agitating for state police are incapable of funding it.
He said that this was evident in the inability of the states to pay salaries of civil servants.
Shehu stated this Tuesday while explaining the President’s delay in assenting to the community policing proposal.
Recall that Buhari last week directed the provision of N13.3 billion for the take-off of community policing.
Speaking on a Channels Television programme on Tuesday, Shehu explained, “For President Muhammadu Buhari, the concern has always been about the spread and abuse of weapons in the hands of police.
“He said it repeatedly that, look, a lot of the states that had clamoured for state police, many of them are unable to cope with salary payment. If you hire a community policeman and give him a gun, and keep him for five, six months without salary, what do you expect? Efforts have been taken so that situation of this kind does not arise. So, therefore, there is a standard national procedure and prescription for each of the states to comply with.”
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The President’s delay in acceding to the clamour for state police had led to the formation of regional security networks, including the Amotekun in the South-West.
Shehu maintained that Buhari believed in the importance of community policing, hence the approval of the N13.3 billion fund for take-off of the policy.
“The essence of the government funding at this time is to do two or three things: one is to ensure training for those who are to be recruited to join the police service, two (is) to enlighten the public about the functionality of the new system and three is to procure equipment. But above all is the need to streamline the processes embarked upon by the states and the sub-regions.
“As members of the community, we know ourselves better, we know all the nooks, the crannies, we know who is who and so, therefore, it is not difficult for intelligence to be supplied for effective law and order management in the community,” Shehu stated.