Presidential aspirant seeks police overhaul to tackle killer herdsmen

A presidential aspirant in the upcoming general elections, Prof. Oluremi Sonaiya, has told the Federal Government to overhaul the Nigeria Police Force, to make the force to live up to its responsibilities.

Reacting to the latest killing of people in Plateau State by herdsmen, Sonaiya said there was no way the police would stop the wanton killings in the country by herdsmen without overhauling the police to perform better.

Sonaiya, who is seeking the presidential ticket of the Kowa Party in the upcoming general elections, spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.

She said it would be difficult to stop the rampaging herdsmen, unless the police were equipped adequately to counter the bloody onslaught of the herdsmen.

On June 24, the herdsmen unleashed their mayhem yet again killing, no fewer than 86 people in Nasarawa State, the latest in a murderous campaign that has claimed hundreds of lives in many states, especially Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa and Enugu States.

The presidential candidate argued that although the primary responsibility of the police was to protect the lives of citizens, there was little the police could do without having necessary equipment to match the killer herdsmen.

Sonaiya, who is also a professor of African Languages and Linguistics, lamented the murderous attacks at Razat, Ruku, Nyarr, Kura and Gana-Ropp Villages in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau.

“Do the police not know their jobs anymore? Is their responsibility not to protect lives and property? Don’t they know how to fish out and arrest suspects anymore?

“These are some of the questions that we need to ask. The police should step up its performance so as to attain its optimal efficiency.

“However, those external factors inhibiting the police from performing, such as poor funding and mismanagement of available funds should also be looked into and addressed.’’

Sonaiya also condemned a statement credited to the Miyetti Allah group that the killing of their cows prompted the latest massacre in Plateau.

She pleaded with the group to give peace a chance, saying that “no amount of cows killed could equate with the human lives being wasted.’’

Sonaiya appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that the perpetrators of the Plateau killings were brought to book forthwith.