The Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, has said that security problems facing the state and other parts of Nigeria may not end until state police are established to support the efforts of existing security agencies.
The governor, who stated this during an interview on Channels TV on Sunday, said more boots needed to be deployed to successfully defeat bandits and other criminals.
Mr Sani also challenged members of the National Assembly to amend the constitution and make provisions for the creation of state police.
“I have always insisted that we need more boots on the ground, we can only address the issue of insecurity if we establish state police, and I’m happy that some governors have realised that we can’t address this issue alone.
“You will recall that as a Senator, I actually sponsored the creation of state police in the National Assembly.
“We took the bill up to the level of the conference committee when we were working towards amending the constitution, and the Senate agreed and supported me, but when we had the conference committee in the House, unfortunately, we lost it at that stage when we voted 21 to 19.
“The 10th Assembly has a big responsibility to amend the constitution and ensure that we have state police in Nigeria. In Kaduna, we added more boots to the Kaduna Vigilance Service, but this is temporary; we need a more permanent solution,” Mr Sani said.
Speaking on the recent bandit attacks in Igabi local government area, Mr Sani said the situation has been brought under control after a proactive response from the government and joint security operations.
He added that the government has been interfacing with security agencies regularly to ensure proper intelligence gathering and sharing.
“In the last few months, we have been having meetings with our core security agencies, comprising the military, the police force, the DSS, and our local vigilance service.
“We are also working closely with traditional and community leaders to ensure proper intelligence gathering and sharing, and I believe that we will be able to address this issue and rescue those kidnapped in the coming days.
“Additionally,in Kaduna State, plans are ongoing to establish more military forward operation bases following the resurgence of security challenges in the state,” the governor said.
The governor added that the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA has been directed to provide relief materials to affected communities.
