Femi Falana SAN, a senior Nigerian lawyer has taken a swipe at governors for giving the impression that they do not have powers on the nation’s security apparatus.
Falana said this while speaking during an interview with The Nation where he talked about some challenges facing the country including insecurity in major parts of the country.
The rights lawyer lamented that in the country, very few governors were actually assisting the police to provide security for their people.
Falana said: “It is regrettable to note all the governors have abdicated their powers to supervise the police.
“Governors are not as helpless when it comes to the maintenance of law and order in any state in the country.
“If state governments cannot establish state police, why are governors not making a case for adequate number of police men and women to provide security for the people in their states?”
The lawyer wondered why security votes received by state governors are not spent to protect the lives and properties of their people.
He also questioned why state attorneys-general do not prosecute the criminal elements arrested by the police and other security agencies from time to time.
“The Special Armed Robbery Squad, otherwise called SARS, is fully funded by state governments. But why have the governors failed to protect the people from the intimidation of the SARS in the states?
“Do you know that it is the exclusive responsibility of state attorneys-general to prosecute cases of murder, kidnapping, banditry and armed robbery?
“South Africa held a general election a fortnight ago. The following day, all electoral offenders arrested by the police were arraigned in court. Our own election was concluded about three months ago. Hundreds of electoral offenders were arrested but they have not been charged with any offence. We just cannot maintain law and order in an atmosphere of impunity,” he lamented.
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