The Edo State House of Assembly has described the suspension of the activities of the Edo State Security Corps by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as unconstitutional, null and void.
The lawmaker representing Ovia North East II and Majority Leader of the assembly, Hon. Charity Aiguobarueghian made this known in Benin City, the state capital on Tuesday, while briefing journalists on the issue.
He described the action of the IGP as political strangulation by the federal government to subvert the will of the people in the forthcoming governorship election scheduled for Saturday September 21, 2024.
Hon. Aiguobarhueghian asserted that the establishment of the state security corps was a creation of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under section 11 subsections 1 and 2, which empowers the state House of Assembly to legislate in the interest of peace, good governance as well as the maintenance of law and order.
He emphasized that the Edo State House of Assembly acted within its constitutional rights by establishing the security corps formation in accordance with section 14 of the constitution within the principles of federalism.
He called on the IGP to recant his suspension, stressing that the AIG of Police and the Police Commissioner should have briefed him on the legitimacy of the State Security Corps.
The majority leader also accused the opposition All Progressive Congress(APC) in the state of trying to use federal might against people ahead of the forthcoming gubernatorial elections.
He advised the APC and federal government to look beyond the immediate and take into consideration the protection of the lives and property of the citizens of Edo state.
He, however, maintained that on several instances, the police and other sister security agencies have had to synergize with the state security corps to combat crime and criminality, particularly kidnapping, which is now becoming history in the state.
He insisted that the IGP lacks the power to disband the state security corps that has been passed into law by the state assembly and assented to by the governor, adding that 23 of the 36 states in the country have similar security network to combat growing insecurity in their various states.
