The recent call by the Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, on President Bola Tinubu to sign an Executive Order for the establishment of state and community policing as a way to curb insecurity in Nigeria deserves commendation. Some prominent Nigerians and other socio-cultural groups like Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Middle Belt Forum have similarly spoken in support of state police. Even President Tinubu has been one of the advocates of decentralising the police.
State governors are regarded as the chief security officers of their states. But it is ironical that security agents are not answerable to them. This was partly why 17 Southern governors who met in Asaba in 2021 canvassed for the creation of state police.
In any true federation, there are different layers of policing. In the United States, for instance, there are county, city, state, and federal police. There are also specialised police forces in places like the universities, hotels and shopping malls. Even in Nigeria, we practise this decentralisation informally with the presence of vigilance groups in different parts of the country.
Security issue is largely domestic. Crime is local. Currently, insecurity has overwhelmed the country. In the North, Boko Haram terrorists and bandits have wreaked havoc on the society. Thousands of people have been killed. Millions of others have been rendered homeless. In the South-East and some parts of the South-West, kidnapping and other forms of criminality hold sway.
In the recent past, some so-called unknown gunmen had killed scores of policemen and burnt some police stations in the South-East region. In 2021, they attacked the Imo State police headquarters and Correctional Centre in Owerri. They razed about 50 vehicles and released about 1,844 inmates from custody.
This state of affairs impacted seriously on the economy of the country. Investors have not been forthcoming. Farmers in some parts of the North don’t go to their farms anymore. This has resulted in shortage and high cost of food items in different parts of the country.
To tackle insecurity frontally, we must have different layers of policing. There are many gains in state police. One of them is responsiveness. The central command we have in Abuja has proven to be ineffective. In 2020, the federal government approved the sum of N13.3 billion for the take-off of community policing across the country. This was sequel to a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) presided over by the then Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. So far, it is not certain why the initiative failed to gain traction.
We should not ignore the flipside of state police though. When state chief executives are in control, anything can happen. They can abuse their powers. They may use it to hound their political opponents and rig elections. Last year, former President Muhammadu Buhari stated his opposition to state police in an interview with Channels TV. Buhari had similarly opposed the idea in 2019 saying the states might not be able to shoulder the burden of paying the police.
Nevertheless, even the central police can also be abused. Almost every institution in Nigeria is abused. Besides, the citizens do not trust the regular central police. People see them as corrupt and unreliable. If they have their way, people prefer to deal with vigilance groups to dealing with the regular police, especially on local crime issues.
State police is an idea whose time has come. It will fill the gap created by the shortage of police personnel in Nigeria. The United Nations recommended 1:400 police-to-person ratio. The strength of the Nigeria’s federal police is less than 400,000 personnel. This is far below the UN recommendation.
There should be a framework to make state or community police to work. The National Assembly should make laws that should make it possible. Measures to check abuse is paramount. Government should ensure that people have dividends of democracy.
No doubt, in a true federation, a decentralised police force is the best way to go. The argument on funding does not hold water. In 2020, the South-West governors floated Operation Amotekun and provided funds, operational vehicles and other logistics for it. Amotekun has helped to curb kidnapping in the South-West. In Kano State, there is Hisbah in operation. Local hunters also play prominent role in the efforts to combat terrorism in the North-East. In the Niger Delta, non-state actors have helped to curb oil theft. Ebubeagu, established by the South-East governors in 2021, operates in some parts of the South-East. In the region too, there are local vigilance groups established and funded by the state governments. These are signs that Nigeria is ripe for state police. All that is required is adequate funding, recruitment, and training of capable personnel from the localities.