Briefing journalists in Abuja after a meeting, Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, who co-chairs the PGF governance programmes steering committee, maintained that the concept of community policing was within the ambit of the law.

Lalong, who recalled how he was able to restore peace in his state through community policing, said the PGF was in support of any collaborative effort with security agencies to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.

He assured that the controversy surrounding Operation Amotekun, the recently launched South West regional security outfit, would be resolved amicably.

He said: “On the general term, after a presentation from the security agencies, all of us appear to be talking about community policing. We all agree on that one so we don’t want a situation where you start doing something and the Federal Government will say you are doing it outside the law just like what they said about Amotekun.

“It is now that they are going to dialogue. Even if they are doing that it has to be within the law. So, what is within the law as far as governors are concerned is the issue of community policing. We are all agreed on that. Like my co-chairman said, when you go into implementation, you use different kinds of methods.”

Sharing his experience in Plateau, Lalong explained: “I made a briefing in Lafia and I told them I have been using community policing for a very long time. In Jos, I have about three organisations, three security outfits. I have the headquarters of ‘A’ Division to have Operation Safe Haven established by the Federal government for only a few states at that time, and I have what is called Operation Rainbow.

“For us, Operation Rainbow is like community policing because while Operation Safe Haven and Police are answerable to the Federal Government, Operation Rainbow is answerable to the governor and it is a combination of different security organisations.

“What they do is intelligence gathering and we find that very effective because if you do not understand the intelligence, you will not understand how to even nip the security situation in the bud. So, because of this intelligence, before anything happens, we know because we have an early warning system.”

Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Badaru, who co-chairs the steering committee on governance, spoke in the same vein. He said: “On Amotekun, I believe the Federal Government and the regions are finding some solutions. They will resolve the issues on how they will do it and also I think security is peculiar to each state.

“It depends on what states believe will work for them. Some will want Amotekun; some will want dialogue. In Jigawa, we don’t need any. We cannot say it is a policy that all APC states will take. It depends on your peculiarities, what will work for you to protect lives and properties.

“There is a standing Committee that is looking at security that involves not only APC governors but also all governors in the federation. The President is so worried about security and he is working tirelessly to see how this menace will really come down. ”

“But I am sure you will agree with me that around Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto, it has dropped. In Kaduna, it’s not so much as it used to be. And when you go to the Northeast, we have been able to reduce it significantly.”