Yusuf Gagdi, a member of the House of Representatives who represents Plateau State’s Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency, has reaffirmed his opposition to the establishment of a state police force but maintained that he supports state policing.
Gagdi disagreed with the call for the establishment of a state police force, which Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang has been pushing, last Sunday while speaking with his people in Kanam in the wake of yet another round of bandit assaults.
As he kicked against the notion, Gagdi stated:
My stance, even on the House floor, is that governors will abuse state police, especially against political rivals, rather than to keep the peace.
I make this statement without worrying about disagreement or political deception. Nigeria is not ready for more security agencies. I am in favor of bolstering the current security agencies instead. Assure accountability and provide sufficient funding for the Department of State Services, the police, the military, and others, Gagdi emphasized.
The lawmaker stuck to his guns when he appeared on national television a few days later, saying that he was against the establishment of state police because he believed that the officers would be used by governors against their alleged political rivals in elections.
“Give an example of a state governor who held elections and the opposition gained 2% of the local legislative council members.
“Name one state, including the ones where I am an APC member, where the opposition members win and there are one or two local government council chairmen?
“Therefore, you will rank INEC as better and more transparent than the state independent electoral commission at the national level.”
He added that governors would arm state police officers, who would then turn against their opponents.
How can you trust the governors to regulate AK-47s at the state level if they can’t fairly manage a state independent commission? I’m allowed to have my own opinions.
“How can you give them state police if they can’t manage a state independent electoral commission effectively and even let the opposition win in a reasonably fair election, but they have everything to themselves, stifling the opposition, pursuing and arresting, and announcing the outcome they want to announce?”
He also emphasized that governors would misuse their authority if they were given command of armed protection.
In your opinion, how will a governor employ state police? What if he utilizes the civil authority he has been given to hold elections to carry out military operations?
But on Friday, Hon. Gagdi added a fresh twist to the debate when he said that he supports community policing, which involves enlisting local kids into vigilante organizations and equipping them with the tools they need to safeguard their neighborhoods because they are more familiar with the area.
Gagdi claimed that because these vigilante organizations would only be beholden to their communities and not a governor, they would be more effective than state police.
Known for giving millions of naira to vigilante organizations throughout the state, Hon. Gagdi recently donated N30 million to local vigilante groups in his district. Insecurity remains in the state despite the massive donations, particularly in the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam zone that he represents.
