Kaduna state governor, Uba Sani, has said that state police must be established to combat banditry and other criminal activities in Nigeria.
He said that vigilantes are ill-prepared to deal with bandits who possess sophisticated weaponry.
The governor’s remarks were prompted by the abduction of over 280 students in the Kuriga region of the state, along with the kidnapping of 87 individuals on Sunday in the Kajuru Local Government Area.
Governor Sani advocated for the creation of state police during a Monday interview on Politics Today on Channels Television.
He said: “Vigilante service cannot hold anything more than pump actions, and these bandits, they come around with AK-47s and even more sophisticated weapons. That is where we are.
“And in any case, that is the reason why some of us are insisting that we need to create state police. When you create state police, you will give the state police the legal authority through our constitution to hold firearms, including AK-47s. Then those communities can defend themselves.
“But until this moment, the vigilante service can only work with the military. They can only work with the police and all the relevant security agencies to help them with intelligence.”
Source:The nation
