Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has reiterated his call for the establishment of state police, describing the outfit as a veritable security platform that will combat the pervasive insecurity bedevilling the northern region and other regions of the country.
The governor allayed the fears expressed in some quarters that state governors could manipulate state police against their political opponents, recalling that former President Goodluck Jonathan never manipulated the security agencies under his control against his opponents in the 2015 elections.
Radda, who stated this in an interview with journalists at the weekend as part of activities to mark his one year in office, said before he became the governor, he was among the major revilers of the state police saying that he has seen the need for it now.
The governor who admitted that the debate for the state police is apt, noted that insecurity has been the major distraction to his administration.
He vowed that the nefarious activities of bandits would not deter his administration from pursuing some developmental projects for the benefit of the people of the state.
“But insecurity has been the major distraction of my administration,” he added.
The governor said: “I wonder when people say state governors are going to manipulate the state police to oppose their opponents. Were we not in Nigeria when Jonathan had all the security agencies answerable to him and he lost the election?
“If you say that an elected governor is going to manipulate and use the state security apparatus against opponents, what makes Mr. President who has control over the security apparatus at the federal level not do exactly that?
“If you are a governor today, you use state police against your opponents, you may not be governor tomorrow and the person that is the governor will use it against you. So, why can’t you do the right thing? It is about responsibility and having responsible leaders,” the governor insisted.
Governor Radda, however, charged the federal government to deploy modern technology such as drones, surveillance cameras, and trackers to fight banditry, kidnapping, and other crimes in the country.
He said if the war against terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping must be won, the federal government must invest in modern security gadgets and the security agencies must be proactive rather than reactive in their operations.
He said: “We should use technology to fight insecurity. What stops the federal government from using the technology to fight this insecurity? What stops us from having coordinated and joint operations?
Radda revealed that bandits are using rocket propellers to launch fierce attacks on communities in some frontline local government areas of the state.
He said the hoodlums recently used the rocket propellers to attack a community in the state where they killed villagers and some security personnel.
“Just three days ago, we had a bandits’ attack in which they used rocket propellers and killed villagers and some security personnel. These are some of the things that make the war very difficult”, Radda said.
He explained that the saddest part of his experience was when he received distress calls that the bandits had attacked a community, killed 10 or 20 villagers, kidnapped some people, burnt houses, and raped innocent women.
While recalling how the bandits killed his elder brother who left behind three wives and 27 children, the governor said the spate of insecurity in the state was giving him sleepless nights.
The governor who was visibly worried over the prevailing security challenges beleaguering the state, said: “Sometimes, I feel that why should I be here while my people are being killed and I can’t do anything?”
“Why can’t we use drones; why can’t we use surveillance cameras and trackers to fight our enemies? I have said it over and over that fighting insecurity requires some level of strength. You have to show capacity to fight it before these people (bandits) can relax, but once they are seeing loopholes and lack of coordination, it makes it difficult for us to control it,” he explained.
The governor added that there should be a well-coordinated and supportive approach between the federal and state governments to win the ongoing war against bandits and other criminal elements terrorising the country.
He said addressing state governors as chief security officers is no longer viable because they don’t have control over the security apparatus of their states.
“So, what are we chief for? That is cowardice because how will someone call you chief security officer when you know that you can’t control,” the governor added.
Francis Sardauna
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