Reactions as IPOB Sends Stern Warning to Nigerian Government
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said that no security system, not even the creation of a state police as being proposed by the Nigerian government will save Nigeria from disintegration.
Emma Powerful, the Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, highlighted the group’s stance while responding to President Bola Tinubu’s initiative.
IPOB supports the concept of regional policing but stands firmly against the idea of state police. The group argues that the move towards state policing is a political strategy aimed at consolidating power within the ruling APC party rather than addressing the underlying security and insurgency issues plaguing Nigeria.
Emma Powerful criticized the proposal for state police, suggesting that it cannot tackle the nation’s security challenges effectively. According to Powerful, only a collaborative regional approach can manage the insecurity crisis, warning against the potential misuse of state police by governors with pro-terrorist inclinations to harbor criminals and terrorists.
The statement further expressed concern over the potential abuse of power by governors if given control over state police forces, labeling many current governors as tyrannical even without direct authority over security forces. IPOB believes that regional police commands, reporting to the governance structures of their respective regions, would be a more effective solution. Such commands should consist of indigenous officers and be established by the constitution, which recognizes six regions in Nigeria.
IPOB cites the example of Amotekun, a regional vigilante force in South Western Nigeria, as evidence of the viability and benefits of regional policing.
The group concludes that attempts to decentralize security forces from the national to the state or local level are doomed to fail, given the foundational issues within the Nigerian state.
They argue that the call for state police reflects a broader loss of faith in the Nigerian project, with people increasingly identifying with their ethnicities rather than their national identity.