Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku has lamented the insecurity in many parts of the country, adding that the state governors have been left incapacitated.
Ishaku lamented that there is very little the state governors can do to control the security situation in their respective states since the power to control security agencies resides in the federal government.
The Taraba State Governor who again used the opportunity to reiterate the calls for state policing made his views known on Thursday while reacting to the attack by Ambazonia fighters, a separatist group from Cameroon on a part of his state.
Naija News recalls Ambazonia separatist militants from Cameroon attacked Takum LGA of Taraba State killing the village head and some residents of Manga community.
This was made known by the Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha, during Senate plenary on Wednesday.
While stressing that the attack threatens Nigeria’s territorial integrity, Senator Bwacha (PDP-Taraba South) revealed that the separatists burnt down the village.
Reacting to the attack during an appearance on Channels Television on Thursday, Governor Ishaku said it is regrettable that Governors have no control over the security apparatus in their respective domains which makes it difficult for them to protect citizens.
He however put it on record that he had reported the matter and the threat to the federal government as well as the military.
“We are under the federal government when it comes to the military and police. There is nothing a state government can do. We rely on them,” he said.
“What else can a governor do, if I had complained? What else can I do? I wish I knew if this thing was going to happen yesterday.
“It is not only me that is helpless. All the governors in Nigeria are helpless. I have said it, times without number.
“All the governors in Nigeria are helpless that is why we are saying give us state police. If we have state police, I will have ordered the police.
“All the governors — not only Darius Ishaku — are helpless; not only the Taraba state government that is helpless, all of us.
“The governors are helpless. Go and ask other governors and tell me who has a solution to give. We have to depend on the federal might when it comes to security.”
Meanwhile, Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume has rejected the idea that the recent attack by Ambazonia fighters on a community in Taraba State is a threat on the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
He said what happened should not be viewed as an attack by the separatist group or Cameroon on Nigeria as a country.
According to the lawmaker, the area of attack is a border community between Nigeria and Cameroon, hence based on information available so far on the incident, what happened was a communal clash.
This article was originally published on Naija News