Senator rejects state police, warns of political abuse

Deputy minority whip of the Senate, Rufai Hanga ( NNPP-Kano Central ), on Sunday rejected proposals to create state Police forces, cautioning that such a move could be exploited by state Governors for political intimidation and personal gain.
Mr Hanga spoke while addressing journalists in Kano on Sunday.
He said the establishment of state police would likely generate rivalry between federal and state security agencies, driven by the conflicting interests of political godfathers.
He warned that this would exacerbate the security challenges already facing Nigerians.
The lawmaker also criticised the recent withdrawal of police security details from VIPs, describing the decision as risky and requiring urgent review.
“Denying National Assembly members adequate security makes them vulnerable and exposes them to danger,” he said.
Mr Hanga said the proposal, if implemented, would “open a Pandora’s box of political repression”, allowing elected officials to deploy armed units against critics and dissenting voices.
He urged the legislators to reject the initiative and to focus instead on strengthening the existing federal police framework to ensure impartial law enforcement across the country.
The senator called on all Nigerians, regardless of party affiliation, to unite in defence of the nation’s hard‑won democracy and to reject any measure that could erode the rule of law.
Mr Hanga also highlighted his legislative initiatives, revealing that he sponsored a bill to establish a university of agriculture in Kura.
He said, “The bill has passed its first and second readings and awaits a third reading and presidential assent.”
(NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

States
Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future
The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Diaspora
New Jersey governor appoints Nigerian-born Shirley Emehelu as deputy
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has appointed Shirley Emehelu as lieutenant governor and secretary of state.

Economy
NLNG, NCDMB commit N13 billion to research in six universities
NLNG and NCDMB have committed $9 million (N12.78 billion) to establish professional research chairs in six Nigerian universities.

Education
OOU suspends lectures for two days after student’s death
Olabisi Onabanjo University has suspended academic activities for two days after a 200-level student died in a road crash.

Africa
Ghana, Canada agree to deepen defence, security cooperation
Ghana and Canada have agreed to strengthen their defence and security cooperation, focusing on military training, intelligence sharing, cyber defence and maritime security.

Politics
Parties demand prosecution of fraudulent INEC officials, audit of 1.6 million invalid voter register
The coalition challenged INEC “to publicly explain how the irregularities occurred, why its monitoring systems failed to detect them promptly”.

Economy
NDC governorship candidate unveils industrialisation agenda for Abia
Etugo Ogah, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) 2027 governorship candidate, has unveiled his development agenda for Abia.





