Tinubu, Governors Should Not Turn State Police Into Political Thugs – Galadima

A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Buba Galadima, on Tuesday accused President Bola Tinubu and state governors of trying to establish state police to use as a tool of destruction in the 2027 general elections.

Galadima said state police would create more problems in the country.

Galadima, who was featured on Arise Television’s Morning Show, questioned how the state police would address security challenges if the Nigerian Army and police cannot.

He stated that: “Nobody ever thought of state police to resolve our security challenges. If the Nigerian police and the Nigerian military cannot resolve the security situation in the country, I wonder how the state police would be able to do that.

“All we know is that the President and the governors are looking for state police before the election so that they use them as political thugs to attack the opposition, disarm the election, and kill democracy.

“I was old enough to see what happened under the native authority police. Three months to election, the native authority police will look up all opposition elements in their territorial jurisdiction and collect them as elections approach. Some of them would say you have abused the emir, judge or you are wearing shoes when your village head was seated on the chair then they would send all of them into detention.

“Most of the Hausa people you see everywhere in Nigeria and Africa are the overflow of the abuse of native authority in Northern Nigeria and that is why they had to run for their dear life and hide somewhere.

“There are certain states where only one tribe or religion would constitute the state police such that other people from the other parts of the country would not have liberty to do their business as enshrined by the constitution. “This can be used to destroy the unity of this country.

“State police for me would create more problems and divisions.”