The Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has called on the federal government to decentralise the nation’s security agencies by ensuring better community participation to effectively tackle crime across the country.
He made the call during a special valedictory court session held in Benin in honour of the retired Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division, Justice Rita Nosakhare Pemu.
“We believe and advocate that to have an effective security system in Nigeria, the security system must be decentralized, as the federal government can’t secure the entire country alone.
“We in Edo State have dealt with security challenges by ensuring community participation and decentralization of our security system,” he said.
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The governor stated that the country would become safer if states and local governments also had their own security structures.
He described the judiciary as the last hope for the citizens.
“You saw what happened on February 25. The calm and peace we experienced in the country following the election is that people know that there is an institution where people believe and hope that they will get justice. They are holding back, shielding their swords until the outcome of the judiciary process,” Obaseki added.
On her part, Justice Pemu described the registry of the court as the pivot around which every other department revolved.
“Once you sanitize the registry of a court, half of the problem is solved. The proactive and unadulterated registry is a blessing to any court. No healthy registry, no court.”
In his speech, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Iyamu, said the retiring justice was known to be “civil, patient, tolerant and exhibited an immensely high degree of ethical comportment in dealing with counsel.”
Also speaking, the Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Benin Division, Justice Orji-Abadua Theresa Ngolika, said the retired justice had contributed greatly to the development of the judiciary system.
