A group, Network of Journalists on Indigenous Issues (NEJII), Monday, stated that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) should be put into consideration when the state police law comes into implementation.
It said the FCT deserves to have local police drawn from indigenous people in the area.
NEJII in a statement signed by its officials, Akinwale Kasali and Fred Ojinika, said Abuja though not yet a state capital should not be denied of local police drawn from Abuja Original Inhabitants (AOIs).
The group noted that security is tied to territorial sovereignty, physical and economic ancestry, adding that the position of the federal government negates the United Nations declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
‘’The idea of not having State Police in Abuja is wrong.
There are some 2.5million indigenous people in the Federal Capital Territory. There should be State Police in Abuja which should be constituted by indigenous people in the FCT.
“The Nigerian government should learn from the police structure in Washington, London and New York. The global best practice is for state capitals to have their own police largely drawn from original inhabitants of the capital city. In the case of Abuja, there are some nine indigenous ethnic groups in the FCT. They should not be denied this historic opportunity,” NEJII stated.
The group said the proposed State Police should recognise Abuja Metropolitan Police drawn from indigenous inhabitants of the FCT.
It argued that Abuja Original Inhabitants form the majority of the people in the FCT.