A lawyer and former member of the House of Representative, Mr West Idahosa, has backed several calls for the creation of state police, saying there shouldnt be any uniform requirement for its take-off.
He stated this on Monday during an appearance on Channels Televisions Politics Today.
In dealing with the Constitution, it is almost a given that everyone wants the state police. It means that it will be easy to get 24 states of the federation to endorse and rectify those proposals that the National Assembly will then pass by way of Constitutional amendment.
Then the big problem now will be funding whether many of these states will be in a better position to fund their police when they do create it. And then there should be no uniform requirement of time for the take-off of state police, he stated.
According to him, states that are ready for the establishment of state police can go ahead and do so.
He however stressed that other states that are not so financial stable or buoyant in meeting with the demands of state police should continue relying on the federal police in combating crime.
Idahosas comments come shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari received a report on the reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement today said President Buhari requested that the report be studied and a white paper produced within three months.
The report of the white paper committee will form the basis of the decisions of the government on the many recommendations, including the setting up of state and local government police made by the Ojukwu panel.
