Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, on Thursday warned that Nigerian citizens would soon be left with no other choice but to arm themselves considering the failure of the police to protect them.
Akeredolu, who delivered the keynote address at the meeting of the Attorney-Generals of the 36 States of Nigeria held in Lagos, said the police should “close shop” if they could not afford to have the equipment needed to protect Nigerians.
The three-day event is meant for the discussion of critical legal issues relating to Value Added Tax (VAT), stamp duty, 1999 Constitution amendments and $418 million Paris Club Refunds, all of which have pitted the state governments against the Federal government.
Though Nigeria claims to be a federal system, it does not practise federalism and has centralised police under the control of the federal government. Many Nigerians including some governors have been clamouring for state police to curb the worsening insecurity in the country.
Akeredolu, whose position was countered by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, said, “We will carry arms very soon, Oga Malami (referring to the AGF), there is no other way, the police have failed.”
On Sunday, June 5, 2022, some terrorists attacked a church in Akeredolu’s home town. The terrorists stormed St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo town, killing no fewer than 40 congregants and injuring several others.
The governor said the failure of the Nigerian government to adequately fund the police was affecting the discharge of their responsibilities.
According to him, the police blamed the non-availability of vehicles for their failure to mobilise to the scene of the attack on the Owo church quickly.
He said, “The current spate of insecurity in the country leaves us with no room for equivocation on the right of the states to maintain law and order through the establishment of state police.”
“The Federal Government getting 52 per cent of the country’s revenue allocation is the main cause of the problem. There are some funds at the federal level that they don’t know what to do with. And the states and local governments are being starved. This is a direct consequence of long military rule,” the governor also noted during his speech.
Malami, in his address, however, said the governors lacked the moral ground to ask for restructuring when they have “colonised the resources of local governments”.
He said, “A further question is whether a state governor that undermines the democratic process, that refuses to inaugurate members of the state house of assembly that were elected equally stands a moral ground to clamour for restructuring against the backdrop of the fact that he does not believe in allowing the system to effectively and efficiently operate?”
Regarding the Paris Club refunds, Malami said, “The present controversies surrounding the Paris/London Club loan refunds could have been avoided if the NGF/state governments and ALGON, who engaged the services of consultants and contractors honoured their agreements.
“NGF and ALGON have not denied engaging the consultants and contractors on behalf of their respective states and local governments,” he added.