…cautions Nigerians as Northern leaders back state police

By Dickson Omobola

Security analyst, Mr Deyemi Saka, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s decision to withdraw police personnel from Very Important Persons, VIPs, saying the move makes them vulnerable to coordinated attacks.

Saka also warned that the recent resolution by Northern governors to back state police might be what he described as a mere political pronouncement, saying Nigerians must be cautious until it is followed through.

He spoke on This Morning, a Television Continental, TVC, programme.

The policy analyst also called for clarification on how personnel for a state police would be recruited and how the system would operate.

He said: “With state police, how do you want to give out the state police now? Is this going to be like a state command under the governor? Are we going to have a state police that comprises residents in a state? How will the personnel in the force be retained? Are they going to be told that, for instance, if you are from Kebbi, Kwara, Sokoto, go? Or, Lagosians in Lagos?”

On withdrawal of police from VIPs, he said: “Whether we like it or not, because a lot of people are so used to their reliability, no matter how much they want to bash the police, they still believe in the strength and the competence of the police ahead of the Civil Defence.

“But the withdrawal of VIPs makes everybody vulnerable. Whether you like it or not, there are sponsors and collaborators in Nigeria. When all of us are exposed to these things, we need to call ourselves to order and act.”

On Northern leaders throwing their weight behind state police, he said: “It makes someone like me skeptical and wondering if it is a political pronouncement because for now it is still a political pronouncement or sounding politically correct.

“Police are closer to the people, whether we like it or not. It is an aberration that we are stretching our military all over. These are things that the police could have nipped in the bud before becoming a national disaster and a monster we’re dealing with on a national scale.”

He also made clarifications on the appointment of Gen. Musa at the Minister of Defence. He started off by stating the resignation by Muhammed Badaru from office as Minister of Defence which paved way for the appointment of Musa is highly commendable, patriotic and selfless.

He also clarified that there is no seniority among the ministers in the Defence ministry as both are joint heads with shared responsibilities of the components and agencies of the ministry.