Chairman Southern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has reiterated the need to have State Police to effectively secure the lives and property of the people. Akeredolu said the Nigeria Police Force is overstretched and understaffed and lacks the capacity to adequately secure the people.
The governor spoke in his office on while playing host to the new Assistant Inspector- General of Police in charge of Zone 17, AIG Yunnus Mohammed Akeera. Akeredolu said the fact that a single police command in Abuja cannot adequately secure the country has led to the demand for State Police. He said: “As you know, the Zone 17 is probably one of the newest. When the Zone was created the State Government had to shoulder a lot of responsibilities. When we got you a location, we had to reno-vate it.
We do not run away from the fact that the Police is overstretched. The same thing, we do not run away from the fact that a single police command in Abuja will not be adequate to police the large populace of the country. “This has led to our demand for State Police. We can complement each other. I have had Senior Police Officers who agree on state police. Maybe they can’t say it in the public. “Go to Ekiti and even here in Ondo State, most of the Police Stations have no vehicle. Look at the unfortunate incident that happened in Owo, Police said they had no vehicle to pursue the perpetrators.
