‘Governors will abuse it’ – Rep Gagdi rejects state police, backs community policing

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Yusuf Gagdi, the representative for Plateau State’s Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has reaffirmed his opposition to the establishment of a state police force but maintained that he supports state policing.

Speaking to his Kanam constituents last Sunday in the wake of yet another round of bandit assaults, Gagdi expressed disapproval of the need for the establishment of a state police force, which Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang has been pushing.

As he resisted the notion, Gagdi stated:

“My position, even on the House floor, is that governors will misuse state police, particularly against political opponents, not to maintain peace and order.

“I say this without fear of contradiction or political misrepresentation. Nigeria is not ripe for proliferation of security agencies. Rather, I support strengthening existing security agencies. Fund the police, military, Department of State Services and others adequately, and ensure accountability,” Gagdi stressed.

A few days later, the lawmaker defended his stance on national television, saying that he opposed the establishment of state police because he believed that the officers would be used by governors against their alleged political rivals in elections.

“Mention one state governor who conducted an election and you have two per cent of the members of the local legislative council won by the opposition.

“Tell me one state, including my APC states, where you have one or two local government council chairmen that the opposition members win?

“It means, therefore, that you will rate INEC at the national level as more transparent and better than the state independent electoral commission.”

Additionally, he said that if the state police existed, governors would arm their officers, who would then turn against their opponents.

“Now, if the governors cannot handle a state independent commission fairly, how will you trust them with the power to control AK-47s at the state level? I am entitled to my opinion.

“If they cannot handle a state independent electoral commission well and even allow opposition to win in a relatively fair election, but they take everything for themselves, strangling opposition, chasing and arresting, and announcing the result they want to announce, how do you then give them state police?”

Additionally, he expressed worries about granting governors authority over armed security, emphasizing that they might misuse this authority.

“How do you think a governor will use state police? If you give him civil power to conduct elections and he uses it militarily, what if you give him military power?”

Hon. Gagdi, however, added a fresh twist on Friday during a radio show in Jos, saying that he is more in favor of community policing, in which young people from the area are enlisted in vigilante groups and given the tools they need to defend their neighborhoods because they are more familiar with the area.

Since these vigilante squads would solely be beholden to their communities rather than a governor, Gagdi claimed they would be more effective than state police.

Millions of naira have been donated by Hon. Gagdi to vigilante organizations around the state; most recently, he gave N30 million to local vigilante groups in his area. Insecurity still exists in the state, particularly in the Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam zone that he represents, despite the enormous donations.

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