Abuja:Dr. Esther Okereke, the Presidential Candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), asserts that adopting community policing and state police are crucial solutions to addressing Nigeria’s security issues.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Okereke made these remarks during her appearance on their personality interview series on Sunday. She urged the Federal Government to reconsider the nation’s security framework and invest in localized defense strategies to ensure the safety of lives and property nationwide.
Dr. Okereke emphasized that local security personnel are uniquely qualified to protect their communities due to their thorough understanding of local terrains. She mentioned that effective intelligence gathering and rapid response could be achieved by empowering grassroots-level forces.
She advocated for equipping community vigilance groups, forest guards, and hunters with the necessary resources and training. Okereke argued that these local groups are best suited to defend their communities, as they possess intimate knowledge of the areas in question.
Furthermore, Dr. Okereke expressed her support for the establishment of state police, dismissing concerns that governors might misuse such power. She explained that structural checks and balances, along with a strict chain of command and defined jurisdictional boundaries, would safeguard against political misuse of authority in a decentralized policing system.
She clarified that empowering local forces does not mean granting them unchecked power. Okereke highlighted the importance of maintaining a chain of command, starting from the president down to the grassroots, to regulate and limit their actions effectively.