Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Buhari, Garba Shehu said many of the States agitating for community policing are still owing workers salaries.
Six states in the South-West region, earlier this year, established a regional security operation code-named Operation Amotekun.
Meanwhile, President Mohammed Buhari had last week approved N13.3bn for the take-off of community policing initiative across the country.
Speaking to Channels TV on Tuesday, Garba Shehu said the President was particular about the sustenance of the community policing arrangement.
He said “The essence of the government funding at this time is to do two or three things: one is to ensure training for those who are to be recruited to join the police service, two (is) to enlighten the public about the functionality of the new system and three is to procure equipment. But above all is the need to streamline the processes embarked upon by the states and the sub-regions.”
“As members of the community, we know ourselves better, we know all the nooks, the crannies, we know who is who and so, therefore, it is not difficult for intelligence to be supplied for effective law and order management in the community.”
On why Buhari took time to approve the community policing arrangement, he said, “For Buhari, the concern has always been about the spread and abuse of weapons in the hands of police.”
“He said it repeatedly that, look, a lot of the states that had clamoured for state police, many of them are unable to cope with salary payment. If you hire a community policeman and give him a gun, and keep him for five, six months without salary, what do you expect? Efforts have been taken so that situation of this kind does not arise. So, therefore, there is a standard national procedure and prescription for each of the states to comply with.”
Shehu Garba also said that all other security arrangements by states would be governed by the dictates of the structure defined by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
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