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Few topics have, perhaps, generated debates in recent time as the need or otherwise of state police in the face of crippling of insecurity and other crimes plaguing the nation. Though with legitimate fears of likely abuse by the state governors, many are of the view that the current centralised system of policing has become inadequate in protecting the citizens from common criminals and organized gangs. Thus the clamour for state police has become an issue that the country cannot run away from, perpetually. In other words, it is a project whose time has come.
It is, therefore, not surprising that President Bola Tinubu, the other day, dropped hints on the readiness of his administration to create state police as a measure in addressing the security challenges across the country. Tinubu, who made the declaration during a meeting with Katsina elders over the rising spate of insecurity in the state, noted that security challenges in some states require the deployment of outfits that understand the terrain, respect the local culture and can easily connect at the grassroots.
The President stated: “I am reviewing all the aspects of security; I have to create a state police. We are looking at that holistically. We will defeat insecurity. We must protect our children, people, livelihood, places of worship and recreational spaces. They can’t intimidate us”. The proposal comes barely 17 years after the President had initially mooted the idea. This is the time for the government to put the idea into action on the matter.
President Tinubu’s remarks came on the heels of calls by several socio-political groups, civil society organisations, ex-servicemen and women on the need to implement the idea. Apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, its Yoruba counterpart, Afenifere, Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Middle Belt Forum (MBF) as well as the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) are among regional and political groups that have joined in the demand. The NGF, which comprises governors of the 19 northern states, identified in the establishment of state police as the most effective way to contain the rising spate of insecurity in the country.
National president of MBF, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, expressed similar concerns when he observed that current policing in Nigeria was not in line with true federalism. On its part, PANDEF said the establishment of state police was long overdue, urging the FG to order a constitution amendment to give effect to it. Ohanaeze and Afenifere have severally argued in that line. Security experts also argue that decentralisation of the police structure could enable states respond more quickly and fashion out strategies to meet local needs.
The clamour for state police had earlier received endorsement with the 36 state governors submitting their positions on the proposal and the majority agreeing on it last year. Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, who disclosed the stance of his colleagues on the matter, said nearly all the states had bought into the proposal, signalling a strong consensus on it. He explained that the states agreed on the experiment due to the unique security challenges confronting the regions and the glaring inadequacies in the current national security framework. A decentralised policing system, according to the governor, would enable states fashion out security measures to their specific needs, thereby enhancing the overall safety of citizens.
While the federal government and states engaged on the topic, the House of Representatives indicated that it was considering a legislative bill titled, ‘A bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for the establishment of State Police and related matters.’
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have equally added their voice to the agenda. They made the call during their condolence visit to their Plateau State colleague, Governor Caleb Mutfwang, over the 2023 Christmas Eve attacks by suspected bandits in Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin Ladi local government areas, which reportedly claimed over 200 lives, with properties worth millions of naira destroyed.
Given the rising tide of insecurity and criminality in all parts of the country, it has become practically impossible for the current structure to effectively police a country through centralised police. The present police force is too cumbersome and stretched for effective response to the changing phases of criminality in the country.
The proposal by President Tinubu on the matter, is a welcome development. State policing is an arrangement that time and circumstances have made ideal. Every crime is local. State police, if well managed and adequately equipped, can detect crime as they unfold. Being closer to the people, the personnel have the advantage of intelligence and early detection of crime before their consummation. It makes for prompt response to security matters.
Various states and regions in the country already have different outfits for internal security such as the Hisbah in the North, Amotekun in the West and Ebube Agu in some parts of the East. There are equally vigilance groups in the states that only need to be harmonised and formalized into state institutions.
The fear of the institution being politicised and abused by the governors cannot be dismissed. Some institutions that exist at the federal levels are already afflicted by the menace of abuse by some governors and authorities at the federal level. Those bodies and institutions have not been discarded because of interferences in their activities. What is needed in the instance of state police is the institution of a strong framework that insulates it from manipulation by unscrupulous individuals and interest groups.
Extreme care is needed in going about the demand. This requires enacting laws that will guard against abuses and ensure that state police do not turn out instruments of intimidation. With adequate institutional checks and supervisory machinery, the fears can be taken care of.
There has been so much lethargy and prevarication on this subject by successive administrations in the land. This is the time to give the project the attention it deserves. Let the necessary legislations for state police be ignited and given effect by the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. The decentralisation should equally extend to council and community policing. The state police idea is even belated.
