Time of State Police is now

It is almost certain now that if there are people who are still skeptical on the desirability of Nigeria to attain true federal system of government where more powers and functions would be devolved to the federating units as in regions and states, they are indeed in the absolute minority and should subsequently bow to one of  the cardinal principles of democracy which lies in the doctrine of majority having their way after the minority might have had their say.

 

Recent events such as the ones recorded in Imo State where officials from the nation’s capital Abuja invaded a church in Nkwere to literally abduct a former governorship candidate in the 2019 general election Chief Uche Nwosu and the bizarre encounter between the Lagos State governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and a Chief Superintendent of Police dispatched from Abuja over who should either give or receive orders for the ‘sealing’ of  a portion of Lagos have come to re-enforce the demand for the establishment of State Police.

 

We make bold to condemn, in its strongest terms, any system of government which continues to play chess with the security of lives and property of its citizens as seen in the Nigerian contest where it is difficult to ascertain who is actually responsible for the security of any of the federating units.

 

Nigeria can no longer afford to continue glorifying governors of the 36 states as chief security officers wherein the subsisting operational framework of the federal government has reduced them to nothing better than lame ducks, bulldogs which are good for the decoration of high places but with no venom to show for their potency.

 

Despite governors generally being regarded as the Chief Security Officers  of their states, no security agency created by Nigerian law is answerable to state governors.

 

Simply put, State Police refers to a system whereby the constituent parts of the nation can create and deploy security personnel for the purpose of protection of citizens and crime detection. Under such an arrangement, the state governors working in consonance with other constitutional organs would hire police officers.

 

Such officers are expected to be accountable to the people of the state as represented by the governor and House of Assembly. Our local experiences and cultural affiliations do call for the adoption of local policing to reduce the level of insecurity in the country.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of his opposition on the clamour to strengthen the country’s security architecture with a State Policing system which was his first response to calls from security experts, legislators and even some members of his party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a confirmation that the president is not in tune with neither the yearnings of the people he ought to be governing nor global trends especially in advanced democracies where multiple layers of police formation is the norm and not the exception.

 

It is our considered opinion that Nigeria should make haste to join climes which have succeeded in building strong institutions as opposed to the structure in Nigeria which hosts strong  people. Buhari was perceived as a strong person during his first leadership of the country as military president but now that he is a civilian president under a democratic dispensation, his strive should be towards leaving legacy of fostering strong institutions where the people’s welfare and interest  precipitate the kind of laws and environment that best suit them. Nigeria of the 21st century should not be talking of cabals but of administrative structures which are capable of been on auto drive.

 

In advancing augment on why Nigeria should continue on the path of a unitary system of government while professing presidential democracy with every power and command structure residing in Abuja, President Buhari said “State Police is not an option… Find out the relationship between local government and the governors. Is the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally? Are they getting it?  Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the fight between local governments and the Governor.”

 

It is obvious that Buhari is beclouded with greed for power and control that he has failed to admit that what he fears the most is what is currently holding sway where a group of people who are exercising power on his behalf has clamped both the state and local government authorities into their pockets while abhorring any form of resistance cum opposition.

 

From revelations arising from  investigations, researches and opinion polls, it is not known of any state governor who is not in full support of policing being devolved to local levels. We state at the risk of repeating ourselves that there must be multi-level policing in Nigeria if issues of insecurity and abuse of powers must be checkmated. State policing is an idea which time has come. Lagos among other states has faulted the excuse that state governors don’t have the resources to fund state police as a fallacy.

 

We had assumed that when Buhari had last year instructed Ministry of Justice, Inspector-General of Police  and National Human Rights Commission  to work out modalities for the implementation of the report of a committee which was set up in August of same year on police reform it was with the view to setting ground rules for the establishment of State Police.

 

The Panel was set up in response to abuses, which the citizenry had suffered in the hands of men of the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad. The special-purpose committee was chaired by Tony Ojukwu, secretary of NHRC and it came out with broad and fundamental suggestions on how policing could be more effective in Nigeria. The Panel’s findings generated nationwide interest because the issues of State Police and national security were addressed thus leaving  no one in doubt about the public expectation that State Police is expedient at this time.

 

The panel’s report, like the 2014 National Conference and the El Rufai reports before it, recommended the creation of State Police in recognition of the deep and fundamental cracks in the policing architecture of the country. With a population of over 200 million citizens spread in 36 states across six geo-political zones, it is foolhardy to stick to the atavistic notion of a central police command.

 

There is no gain saying that the setting up of vigilante groups across the 36 states stands as prelude to the eventual establishment of state policing system. It is now the responsibility of the National Assembly to initiate the legal framework with reference to constitutional issues and provisions capable of empowering the presidency to make proclamation on the creation of State Police.

 

This is expected to be actualized as soon as possible once there is, as expected, a consensus among the various stakeholders, the presidency inclusive. In mentioning the presidency, we are deliberately  trying to emphasis institution as oppose to any individual. We are hopeful this time around that Buhari will flow with the tide in granting the wishes of the populace in contrast to his three time refusal to assent to Electoral Act Amendment Bills.

 

 

For a better society