This newspaper has remained a strident advocate for state Police. We had canvassed this viewpoint on this page following the widespread insecurity in the country. This position was reinforced recently by eminent citizens of the country including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former President Goodluck Jonathan and former military Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar. Eminent traditional rulers from across the country have joined in the clamour for the institution of state Police. A retired Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, has also added his weighty voice in favour of the idea just as another former Inspector General of Police and presently the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Solomon Arase, admonishes that the process be cautious and deliberate.
President Tinubu, even before coming into office, had expressed his commitment to Police reform to enhance their efficiency and operational capabilities. He is listening to the suggestions that implore him to first address the problems plaguing the security outfit as it presently is just as he awaits inputs from stakeholders that would guide his decision on the issue.
However, we were taken aback by the position of the serving Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who is of the opinion that the country is not ripe for state Police. We consider this ill-advised. In our view, the top cop, if he was reported correctly is, obviously, swimming against the tide of a groundswell of public opinion.
The Police Force, bogus and inefficient as Nigerians perceive it to be, has become a behemoth that has defied all efforts to reform it. As a matter of fact, that is the reason for the drive to decentralize it so as to give the states a firm control of the security apparatus in their various domain.
Even more baffling, in our considered opinion, is his suggestion that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), should be disbanded and merged with the already over-bloated Police. We make bold to say that these two agencies have established themselves as necessary tools in the nation’s security and public safety architecture. They have their roles cut out for them and any idea that they should be dismantled to form arms of the Police is not only anachronistic but also a misguided effort to turn back the hands of the clock.
We are enamoured by the fact that, already, a bill for the amendment of the constitution that will give legal backing to the proposition has passed second reading in the House of Representatives as the call gains ascendancy and for good reasons. First, the spate of killings, kidnappings and attacks across the country have armed so well those championing the cause of that arm of security apparatus. Nigerians are daily inundated with the sad news of deaths, destruction and losses. And this is taking a great toll on the economy, growth and development.
Besides, as we have consistently argued, all over the world, state Policing system is the standard in democracies. Nigeria’s democracy is modelled after that of the United States of America, yet in practice, the country’s system is shy of the fine points of that bastion of democracy. Federalism, by definition, is a decentralized system, with the federating units working out systems that serve them best especially on matters of security. To a reasonable extent, state governors, in the Nigerian context, control land, property, budgets, courts and appointments. Yet, security that should undergird their operations is controlled from the centre in Abuja. Very absurd, in our opinion.
The culprit of this anomaly is Section 214 of the Nigerian Constitution. When interpreted it means that there can only be one Nigeria Police Force, at the federal level. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) heads that Police Force. The IGP is accountable only to one person, the President, Commander-in-Chief. And this brings us back to the issue of constitution amendment. As already pointed out, the legislature is taking care of that legal obstacle.
But for politics, the decentralization of the police shouldn’t be an issue at all in a country with so large a population as Nigeria. From recent happenings, a centralized Police Force with a population of over 200 million spread over 36 states, a federal capital territory, and 774 local government areas, cannot effectively tackle crimes and other forms of insecurity.
It is pertinent to point out that policing is a local function, and it is imperative that police officers and men are familiar with their environment, and understand the language and culture of the people. It is now obvious that the policy of moving police personnel across ethnic, linguistic, and religious boundaries, as is currently the case, is counterproductive. We are not oblivious of the apprehension, which is deep-rooted, that state Police will be abused by the political class. But the real problem is not so much with the politicians as with the corruption in the political system and the police establishment itself.
In our view, professional capacity building and concerted ethical reorientation of the police force will be needed to ensure best practices. However, such reorientation should be backed up with an upward review of their remuneration, which leads to the second fear expressed by opponents of state police. It is the fear of inadequate financial capacity of state governments to manage state police system. Most of these states are already cash-strapped and may not be able to adequately fund state police. But come to think of it, a good number of the states have a huge investment in the police, even while under the federal system through purchase of patrol vehicles and security equipment. With their security vote, this shouldn’t be an issue really.