By Alfaritsy
O
n Thursday, February 15, 2024, President Bola Tinubu and the state governors agreed, in principle, to establish state police as part of the measures to check the rising wave of insecurity across the country.
On Thursday, February 1, 2024, during their visit to Plateau State to express sympathy over the ongoing violence against civilians, members of the opposition PDP Governors’ Forum supported loud demands for establishing state-level law enforcement agencies.
We remember that during a summit held on Monday, September 12, 2022, both the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) advocated for amending the 1999 Constitution with the aim of providing a legal foundation for state policing. The communique issued after their gathering in Abuja stated, “Implementing this would significantly enhance the security situation within the area.”
In an unexpected shift in April 2022, ex-Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo advocated for the establishment of state police as a means to address the escalating security issues within the nation.
The major obstacles to the creation of state police are the provisions of the 1999 Constitution. Section 214(1) of the Constitution expressly warns that “There shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof.”
Section 215(4) of the Constitution provides as follows: “Subject to the provisions of this section, the Governor of a state or such Commissioner of the Government state as he may authorise in that behalf, may give to the Commissioner of Police of that state such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order within the state as he may consider necessary, and the Commissioner of Police shall comply with those directions or cause them to be complied with: Provided that before carrying out any such directions under the foregoing provisions of this subsection the Commissioner of Police may request that the matter be referred to the President or such minister of the Government of the Federation as may be authorised in that behalf by the President for his directions.”
It is clear from the information provided that only a constitutional amendment can result in the creation of state police forces. However, none of the 68 Constitutional Amendment Bills considered by the National Assembly in 2022 addressed this matter, even as security concerns within the nation continued to escalate.
The topic of state police has remained at the forefront of public discussion for decades. This issue has sparked significant controversy. Each Nigerian president has opposed it for somewhat unclear reasons, possibly due to wanting to maintain control over instruments of power. Many citizens oppose state police out of concern about potential misuse by state governors, fearing these leaders might use law enforcement agencies against their political adversaries. On the contrary, most Nigerians across different parties and even the governors themselves—who serve as chief security officers within their own states—believe it’s essential to establish a state police system.
Could an individual Inspector-General of Police, despite being extraordinarily capable, set up a comprehensive security framework for each village and hamlet across a large area encompassing more than 250 distinct ethnic groups, considering their varied histories, tongues, and customs? Many believe that incidents like the Owo massacre, along with numerous others, could potentially have been avoided or at least rendered more challenging to execute if we had state-level policing.
Although we recognize the potential downside of constitutional police decentralization, we feel that the advantages significantly outweigh any possible disadvantages. Furthermore, no state leader will have complete authority over the police force. Given the widespread issues caused by Boko Haram terror attacks, banditry, kidnappings for ransom, herdsman violence, armed robberies, and ritualistic abductions across the nation, it is crucial to establish state-level policing. Local law enforcement can be particularly efficient at fighting crimes when operating within their communities and familiar territories.
Each advanced society implements a tiered law enforcement structure. Nigeria should not be an exemption. Hence, we encourage the National Assembly to swiftly address the creation of state police.
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