The speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, has joined the call for the establishment of state police to curb growing insecurity in Nigeria.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday in Ibadan, Mr Ogundoyin said the current level of insecurity in the country posed a great challenge to its economic development.

He said statistics showed that at least 700,000 people have lost their lives needlessly to pockets of insecurity, such as insurgency, farmers’ headers clash, and other violence.

“Losing 700,000 people is not only alarming but also a tragedy; we have to identify that the primary role of government is the protection of lives and property.

“In a situation where the government cannot secure lives and properties, that means it has failed in its primary role.

“Giving more responsibility to the subnational, which is the states, in terms of security, will address some of the security issues in Nigeria,“ he said.

Mr Ogundoyin, who also doubles as the chairman of the Conference of Speakers in Nigeria, emphasised that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has been overstretched with responsibilities.

He said the conference of speakers in Nigeria has thrown its weight behind the agitation for state police.

The speaker added that the decision was to create support for the current efforts of NPF in combating crimes and criminality.

“I believe that the posture and body language of the current administration and the National Assembly show that we are leaning towards the situation whereby we will have state police,” he said.

Mr Ogundoyin cautioned citizens who believe that governors would mismanage state police and prioritise political interest above the protection of lives and properties.

He said that if a proper legal framework and policies were put in place, the establishment of state police would not amount to putting additional powers into the hands of the governors.

“We understand that there is a risk factor to mismanagement of state police, but we must not condemn state police due to some personal interests.

“There can be hierarchy and modes of operations to check and balance the situation.

“With the success recorded so far with Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) codenamed “Amotekun”, state police is possible, “he said.

Mr Ogundoyin said the Oyo State House of Assembly was among the states that supported financial autonomy for local governments in response to the agitation of many  Nigerians.

The speaker, however, cautioned that factors that led to the initial creation of the joint account should be first resolved before full implementation of financial autonomy to avoid further issues.

(NAN)