The Chief Judge of Taraba State, Justice Joel Agya, has welcomed moves by President Bola Tinubu to establish state police, describing the initiative as a bold step towards addressing Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.
Agya spoke in Wukari during a dinner and fundraising for the Justice Joel Agya Bar Centre Project organised by the Wukari Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
He said the creation of state police had become imperative given the rising wave of criminality across the country, arguing that locally recruited officers would be better positioned to tackle insecurity in their communities.
“The state police would employ indigenes to police their localities rather than deploying people who might not be conversant with local terrains.
“I want to believe that this policy will go a long way in maintaining law and order within local communities.
“What we are concerned about is for the institution to operate within the ambit of the law,” he said.
The Chief Judge also commended the leadership of the NBA Wukari branch for organising a successful Law Week and urged guests at the event to contribute generously towards the construction of the association’s secretariat complex.
Earlier, chairman of the NBA Wukari Branch, Hassan Saubana, appealed to the judiciary to deploy more judicial officers to courts in the southern part of Taraba State, saying inadequate manpower remained a major obstacle to the effective administration of justice in the area.
Saubana thanked the Chief Judge, judges of the High Court and other dignitaries for attending the event and assured members that construction of the Justice Joel Agya NBA Secretariat Complex would commence as soon as adequate funds were raised.
The event marked the end of the two-day Law Week organised by the Wukari branch of the Nigerian Bar Association.
