He also commended President Bola Tinubu and the 36 state governors for agreeing to take the step.
In a statement on Wednesday, the MTN Nigeria chief, however, urged the Federal Government to remain steadfast and ensure the crystallisation of the idea in the shortest possible time.
He said, “The current parlous security situation in the country needs to be tackled firmly and comprehensively, and the creation of state police will help stem the increasing spate of criminality in the country.”
Ndukwe also enjoined both the government and the people to join hands to bring to fruition the idea of state police, adding that state policing would increase the numerical strength of security personnel saddled with the responsibility for internal security.
He bemoaned the current situation in Nigeria, saying “there is only one federal police force with a total strength of less than one million personnel.”
He emphasised that state police will not only increase the overall “number of police officers in the country but will ensure that officers of the state police force will operate in their localities or in very familiar territories which will help to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency.”
Mindful of the often-expressed fears in some quarters about the possible misuse of state police by the sub-national political authorities, Ndukwe called for laws and stringent operational guidelines to curb such likely excesses.
He said state policing would ensure that virtually every inch of Nigerian soil will be protected, “unlike the present situation where there abound a lot of ungoverned spaces that are often converted by bandits as the operational bases for their nefarious activities.”
The House of Representatives on Tuesday, passed for second reading a bill to provide for the establishment of state police in the country.
Sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu and 14 others, the bill seeks to alter the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for states to establish their policing outfits.
As lawmakers took turns to contribute to the debate on the floor of the House during Tuesday’s plenary, Kalu who stood in for the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, urged members to look beyond political ambitions and think about the safety of Nigerians and Nigeria.
