Fulani herdsmen kick against proposed state police

Fulani herdsmen under the aegis of Kulen Allah Cattle Rearers Association of Nigeria (KACRAN) has strongly opposed and rejected in totality planned move to create state and local government police in the country.

The position of the association was contained in a statement issued in Damaturu, Monday, by its National President Khalil Mohammed Bello.

He said the creation of state and local government police will cause more divide and strongly weaken the Nigerian security system, rather than strengthening as is the case in the current unity of purpose and command.

He stressed that the move will also cause confusion and crisis between the three different police commands that are supposed to work closely with extreme unity and esprit de corps.

“We of KACRAN, as the most endangered species, strongly feared that our members would be the first victims of State and local government policing, if wrongly or whimsically introduced in Nigeria.

“We are so much worried and fearful that in the States where anti open grazing laws were introduced, the State and local government police would be forcefully used against our vulnerable members to enforce such laws which would seriously jeopardize our members’ lives and that of their animals,” he predicted.

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The National President pointed out that another disadvantage of creating state and local government police is that they can be used to victimise the opposition during and after election period as state governors with dictatorial tendencies will easily deploy them against opponents.

“They can be wrongly and unconstitutionally used by State Governors to rig elections, because having being in full control of his own police command no governor would be defeated during elections no matter what the circumstances of winning that elections may be.

“At the same time if crime is committed which police command or station will people go to report that criminal act?That is what would happens if Mr. A reports a case to Federal police command and Mr. B reports to State or local government police command?

“Moreover, it would bring anarchism or lawlessness for the fact that governments’ loyalists would be protected from facing any trial no matter how weighty their offences may be, an action that may trigger people to take laws into their hands,” Bello opined.

He advised that instead of creating another form of police, more manpower should be employed to boost the strength of the central police force, adding that adequate training, sophisticated weapons, good motivation in form of allowances among other incentives should be provided to the police in order to give their best in the nationalistic service of defending their fatherland.