With the prospects of the long elusive state police looking bright, Enugu State’s huge investment in modern security infrastructure appears to be the way to go to make the devolution of policing powers worthwhile, writes Deji Elumoye.
The recent Arise News Townhall on State Policing may have come and gone, but its impacts and insights have been far-reaching. With the Theme “Building a National Consensus for State Police and National Security,” the Townhall held at THISDAY DOME in Abuja was truly a gathering of the who-is-who, as the nation’s security sector, political leadership, the civil society, and even the international community as represented by former two-time Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, weighed in on the powers, structure, control and funding of state police services, which constitutional enablement appears quite imminent.
But in practical terms, Enugu State, under the leadership of Governor Peter Mbah, stood out as a pacesetter and forward thinker in the conversation around state police and modern security in general. While most states were still waiting for the constitutional amendment that would devolve policing to the subnational, the Mbah Administration has proactively invested in hi-tech security infrastructure and manpower to effectively police the state within the precincts of extant laws.
