State police non-negotiable — Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has described state police as a non-negotiable entity that Nigeria must establish.

Mr Jonathan, who was president from 2010-2015, said the conversation must shift to the prevention of abuse by governors.

He stated this on Monday at the ongoing dialogue on state police organized by the House of Representatives.

He said most times governors abuse institutions, however, the challenges are not sufficient to stop the creation of state police.

The former president said state police was wildly accepted by the delegates at the 2014 Confab.

“We can only end kidnapping and other forms of insecurity through the creation of state police,” Mr Jonathan said.

Mr Jonathan’s stance contradicts the position of the inspector general of police, Kayode Egbetokun, who opposed the establishment of state police.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Ben Kalu argued that the current security situation in Nigeria requires a multilayer approach to insecurity.

He stated that over N5 billion has been paid in ransoms to kidnappers, a figure that starkly exposes the alarming growth of this criminal enterprise in the country.