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The Eselu of Iselu kingdom in Yewa North local government area of Ogun State, Oba Akintunde Akinyemi, has opposed the call for the establishment of State Police, saying that the country is not yet ripe for the State Police.
Oba Akinyemi, who spoke with journalists at the sideline of his birthday ceremony, held in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital, suggested that the existing police force should be reformed.
According to the traditional ruler, state governors could use the police forces under their control for political or personal gain and undermine human rights and security.
Oba Akinyemi expressed the fear that the state governors may hijacked the apparatus of state police to intimidate and victimize members of the opposition parties in their states.
The traditional ruler argued that if the existing police force is well equipped, funded and motivated it will be better positioned to fight insecurity and other criminal activities confronting the country.
He said, I want to tell you categorically that Nigeria is not ripe for state police because when you see it the US, you will know that it is policing that has to do transparency, equity, accountability and zero corruption, but in Nigeria today, if you are an APC member and the governor is PDP, the police will act according to the instructions of the governor where they will be victimizing those in the opposition party.
“So, I think we still need to practice democracy more even before we talk about police, let them give us stable electricity because we are in a computer age, nobody goes around and start stopping vehicles to detect criminals.
“The President should look into giving adequate equipment, finance and insurance to the existing police before decentralising it to the states”.
Speaking on the struggle for Yoruba Nation, Oba Akinyemi called on President Bola Tinubu to dialogue with Yoruba nation agitators and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and carry them along in his administration’s programmed and policies.
“The most important thing is the rules of engagement where President Tinubu will tell them (agitators) the workings of his manifestos and they will understand that the meant good for the country and SouthWest in particular”, he said.
