Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has urged for the Nigeria Police to operate independently at both national and state levels to effectively combat crime and insecurity. Speaking at the Arise News Townhall in Abuja on Thursday, she stressed the need to shield the police from political interference, questioning who citizens could report to if a police commander failed to act. She raised concerns about the proposed National Police Council, which will be chaired by the President and include all 36 state governors, warning it could become a mere talk shop or political club without genuine reform. Akpoti-Uduaghan advocated for decentralizing the police force and incorporating smart technology in security operations. She referenced a viral TikTok post by bandits offering giveaways to Nigerians, questioning why security agencies had not apprehended such individuals despite their public digital presence. The Senator emphasized that citizens must not give up on the country, stating that local policing could help resolve the insecurity crisis. "As long as we are citizens we cannot give up, nobody will help us build our country," she said. She added that deploying technology could counter the growing use of social media by criminal elements.
|||NAJABUZZ_TAKE||| Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan questions the independence of the police while supporting a National Police Council led by the President and all 36 governors, the same political figures she implies could undermine it. Her call for technological solutions rings hollow when bandits operate openly on TikTok without arrest, exposing a gap between rhetoric and enforcement. The proposal for local policing gains little credibility when no mechanism is offered to insulate it from the political control she decries. A council chaired by the President and state governors cannot be both politically inclusive and free from political manipulation.
If the proposed National Police Council—chaired by the President and all 36 governors—is meant to improve policing, why would a body packed with politicians be trusted to check political interference in the police? Nigerians are left wondering who will truly hold powerful police commanders accountable when politics still calls the shots.
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