Just In: Federal Government, Governors Finally Agree To Decentralize Nigeria Police

The federal government and governors of the 36 states of the federation, on Thursday, August 16, resolved to explore how the operations of the Nigeria police can be decentralized in order to improve the level of policing and security in the country.

This was part of the highlights of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting where a committee of state governors and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has been set up to ensure the decentralization.

In a press release after showing the highlights, the members of the committee include the governors of Zamfara, Ondo, Plateau, Ebonyi, Katsina, Edo and Borno states. They will work with IGP Ibrahim Idris.

The press release reported by Premium Times said at the NEC meeting, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, assured that the intelligence community and security agencies will continue to sustain current efforts to mitigate the security challenges across the country. Monguno had earlier briefed the council on security matters.

The deputy governor of Benue state, Benson Abounu, who spoke with journalists after the meeting, commended the efforts of the security agencies at mitigating the spate of insecurity in the state. Abounu reportedly thanked the security agencies for the thoroughness of Operation Whirl-Stroke mounted by the Nigerian Army in Benue state for their decisive activities which, according to him, have brought relative peace to the state.

“The security situation in Benue state has improved significantly. Now many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have returned home, the State is relatively calm,” he said.

The report added that at the NEC meeting, presentations were made on Value Added Tax (VAT) and withholding tax by states and MDAs by the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler.