Invoke Doctrine Of Necessity To Speed Up Establishment Of state police, IMPI Urges National Assembly

One of the country’s leading policy advocacy groups, the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), has called on the National Assembly to invoke the doctrine of necessity to fast track the establishment of state police in Nigeria.

In a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Omoniyi Akinsiju, the think tank expressed concern over the delay in implementing a decentralised policing structure, describing state police as critical to strengthening the country’s internal security architecture.

IMPI stated: “We posit, in this regard, that the police force should be the foundation of the country’s internal security architecture.

In consideration of this, we acknowledge efforts that are being made to establish the State Police as part of the nation’s security apparatus.

“Our argument is hinged on the fact that police officers must be recruited from and deployed to the local environment they are familiar with.

“The would be police officers are better placed because of their knowledge of the culture and familiarity with their environment. We, therefore, call on the National Assembly to invoke the doctrine of necessity to ensure the passage of the law creating State Police without delay.”

The group also urged state governments to promote community participation in security management by actively involving local stakeholders in addressing security challenges.

“Additionally, governments at all levels should facilitate community involvement in security matters through community mobilisation.

Community mobilisation is a process of engaging and empowering members of a community to take ownership of and actively participate in addressing issues and challenges facing the community.

“It involves bringing together various stakeholders within a community, such as community leaders, local organisations and government agencies, to work towards a common goal.

“It is aimed at fostering solutions that support good governance, accountability, representative participation and peaceful change.

Participation in community mobilisation is about addressing the interests of the entire community, with security at the top,” IMPI added.