Insecurity: Gov. Ishaku embraces local policing, deploys 20,000 marshals

Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State said he has embraced local policing and have positioned about two thousand marshals called ‘Taraba Amotekuns’ to ensure security across the state.

The governor disclosed this during a live interview on the “Journalist Hangout” programme on Television Continental.

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While speaking on his challenges as the state governor of Taraba, Ishaku stressed the need for Nigeria to embrace local policing. According to him, decentralizing the Nigerian Police will help to end insecurity.

“We must tell ourselves the truth, what will work will work and what will not work will not. We say we are copying the American constitution, but they have America’s local government, state, and federal police.

“This is to ensure that what is too big for the local police would be handled by the states and bigger issues than her capacity are handled by the federal police.

“But I don’t know whose wisdom was used in drafting our constitution. They removed that and put the police under the Federal Government.”

However, he lamented some false claims that governors use police officers as instruments against their opponents.

“But are they not still misusing it at the federal level? I conducted elections, and in my local government, I was defeated. Someone was asking me why I let that happen. I had to tell them to leave it, it was the people’s choice. A lot of people were shocked.

“We have to mature into the system we have created. For instance, if there was an issue in the state and you, as the chief executive, cannot order the police, they have to receive an order from someone who receives an order from somewhere else, which take time.

“The only solution to insecurity is to decentralise the police, embrace local police. Our local police marshals have started operations in Taraba State.

“Over 2000 marshals have been distributed across the states. You can call them the ‘Taraba Amotekuns’. They have started operations, and we are willing to train more”. He said.

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