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Tag: STATE POLICE

  • State Police: Pipe dream or panacea?

    State Police: Pipe dream or panacea?

    After decades of clamouring for restructuring of the polity and devolution of power, the Federal Government and 36 governors have now agreed to establish state police to better enforce law and order, protect life and property and tackle insecurity across the states of the federation. Deputy Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the elements of state/community policing, the constitutional hurdles, other constraints, and prospects of the innovative move.

    Nigeria may be charting a new path towards ‘true’ federalism. On Thursday, the country tried to embrace the reality and cumulative consequences of over centralisation of power in a highly heterogeneous unitary nation-state masquerading as a federation. Following the meeting of President Bola Tinubu with 36 governors and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike in Aso Villa, Abuja, Nigeria opted for state police instead of the current outdated, ineffective and centralised policing structure that has failed to tackle mounting security challenges.

    The recourse to state police followed strident agitations for restructuring of the polity by various stakeholders, including scholars, labour, professional groups like the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), pan-ethnic groups-Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere, pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Ibibio Union, Ijaw Congress, PANDEF, some leaders of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF); elder statesmen, ‘retired’ Generals,  prominent ruling and opposition chieftains and youth groups.

    Indeed, in its report, the Panel on Restructuring set up by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and chaired by former Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nosiru El-Rufai recommended the devolution of power and decentralisation of police.

    RATIONALE FOR STATE POLICE:

    What has motivated the Federal Government’s decision to adopt a paradigm shift and revolutionise policing is that in the last 10 years, Nigeria has not been at peace. It has continued to battle, without much success, with terrorism, banditry, farmer-herder clashes, kidnapping for ransom, killings and other forms of violence.

    Thousands of people have lost their lives; property worth billions have been destroyed, law and order have broken down, and there have been disruption of socio-economic activities. Life is becoming harsh, short and brutish. Many Nigerians live daily in fear. There is no end in sight to the hullabaloo.

    As Nigerians groan under the yoke of terror, commentators pointed out repeatedly that the police, as currently structured, can neither enforce law and order nor prevent crime because policemen, despite their knowledge, lack a basic understanding of the environment and the people they are meant to serve in diverse communities.

    Details of the proposed decentralised police structure are sketchy; whether it would be along multi-level policing-state, regional, zonal or sub-zonal, state/state level, local government or community policing under the supervision of sub-national authorities.

    Instructively, before the dream of a state police can be actualised, there may be a need to also amend the constitution. Currently, policing is on Exclusive List, which is the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.

    Sections 214 to 216 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria provides for the Nigeria Police Force. According to Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), “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.”

    However, the proposed state police, in whatever form it may come, portends three implications. More police formations with the right and adequate equipment are expected to spring up, with more policemen recruited to address the deficit or manpower gap. Also, policing would now be adapted to local needs and peculiarities. Most importantly, the state police has to be adequately funded.

    HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES:

    These two imperatives were considered at the onset of modern policing in colonial Nigeria. A police researcher, Oyesoji Aremu, a professor of Counselling Psychology, recalled that at the beginning, there waa no unified police.

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    The 30-man Consular Guard approved for the Lagos Colony by the British Government in 1861 was the foundation of the Nigeria Police Force. It had its origin in Lagos, the former federal capital. Known as Hausa Guard or Constabulary, its main duty as a military outfit, apart from maintenance of law and order, was strictly regime protection. The jurisdiction of that Lagos Police Force covered the whole of Yorubaland on the Southwest.

    Aremu, who teaches at the University of Ibadan, noted that while the police formation was taking a firm root in mainly Yoruba-speaking areas, the Niger Coast Constabulary was created for the Oil Rivers Protectorate comprising Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibon, Rivers and Cross River areas. However, it was later merged with the Lagos Police Force to form the Nigeria Police Force in 1906.

    In the North, the Royal Niger Company established the Royal Niger Constabulary in 1888, which later split into the Northern Nigeria Police Force and the Northern Nigeria Regiment in 1900. “From this period to March 31, 1930, Nigeria as a country had two separate police forces, even after the historical amalgamation of Southern and Northern Nigeria in 1914. It was on April 1, 1930 that a full fledged and unified Nigeria Police Force headed by an Inspector-General of Police was established and headquartered in Lagos, the then Federal Capital Territory,” Aremu recalled.

    In the First Republic, Nigeria, made up of three, and later, four regions, practised federalism. The constitution devolved substantial government powers to the regional governments of the North, East and West. Police forces were regionalised before they were later nationalised, following the military intervention in politics.

    Between 1960 and 1966, while the Federal Government managed the Nigeria Police Force at the centre, the regional governments controlled regional police forces.

    ABUSE OF REGIONAL POLICE:

    However, cases of abuse were rampant as the police became tools of political oppression by the ruling elite against the opposition.

    As Ismail Jibril, a lawyer, reflected, “the local Police of this time was accused of several misconducts and became instrument of oppression by the regional government, particularly against the political opponent and in 1966, when the military government emerged, the local police was disband and fully integrated into the Nigeria Police Force, which has since remain a sole entity responsible for policing in Nigeria.”

    Two researchers on ‘Police-Community Violence in Nigeria,’ Etannibi Alemika and Innocent Chukwuma, provided an awful picture of deployment of police for political brutality against political foes. They submitted that The First Republic (October 1960-January 1966) and Second Republic (1979-1983) were characterised by political intolerance among politicians and political manipulation of the police, adding that in their bid to gain or maintain political power, the politicians employed the police to unleash violence on their opponents.

    It is an understatement. According to the researchers, the government of Western Nigeria during the First Republic (1960-1966) embarked on mass recruitment into local authority forces of thugs and party stalwarts against whom the police should give protection to the ordinary people. These people, it was alleged, carried out their paid duty of thuggery in local government police uniforms, under the full weight of governmental support.

    Also, in the Northern Region during tge same period, “political opponents were arrested by native authority police, handcuffed or chained and marched through the streets.” because they engaged in opposition politics.

    Another scholar, Kemi Rotimi, in an extensive review of the behaviour, deeds and political manipulation of police forces in Western Nigeria, offered broader explanations for politically induced police violence in the country.

    She said: “A major instrument for harassing political opponents in the years before 1966 was the NA/LG (Native Authority/Local Government) Police. Politicians in power were inclined to use police, first, because of the socialisation processes that the successor-elite had undergone under colonial rule. The colonial state was an authoritarian one, largely intolerant of opposition. “Second, it was necessary for mediating the intra-elite struggle for political power and economic privilege by the political class.

    “Third, it was necessary for the protection of ethnic power bases of the ruling elite from intrusion by other ethnically based political parties.

    “Fourth, it was used to show off power to the supporters of the opposition parties.

    “Fifth, it was useful to guarantee for the bodyguards or thugs of the power holders, immunity from the long arm of justice whenever they committed illegal acts.

    “Sixth, it was ultimately vital for the perpetuation of the governing elite in power.”

    Rotimi pointed out that the sympathy of the individual policemen for the ideals of the party in power or for individuals in the party hierarchy to whom they might be related by blood or other personal ties was a feature of regional police structure. Reward by the political elite for the regional policemen assigned the duty of oppressing and bullying political opponents came in the form of financial inducement and ultimate career  advancement through subjective promotions.

    “These observations call for caution by the advocates of state police forces because the

    orientation of the politicians is still largely antithetical to democratic values,” said Alemika. Rotimi’s

    Also, if state police is to be created, Rotimi’s observations imply  that the country would require a framework for the accountability of the police to the civil society more than to individuals holding executive power.

    NATIONALISATION OF POLICE:

    Under the prolonged military rule, the development of police was also stifled. Although more state police commands were established, following state creation, military leaders focussed more on the military wing of the Armed Forces than their para-military rivals. That attitude was carried over to the Fourth Republic.

    Many observers contend that the police, as it currently exists, is not the pride of the nation. It conveys an image of an overworked agency, demoralised and structurally denied of the motivation to work. It is deprived of adequate funding and lacking the required numerical strength to police a country of estimated 200 million people. It is always in want of critical tools to work,  and suffering the agony of poor remuneration. Many policemen are not proud of their calling. Their presence, unlike before, does not evoke respect in the community.

    At the state level, governors are decorative chief security officers. While governors have been providing guns, patrol vehicles and other tools for the police, policemen are only accountable to the power-loaded Federal Government. Governors can issue directives to police commissioners in their states, but the commissioners have to take clearance from the distant Inspector-General of Police in Abuja before compliance.

    According to Afenifere, the Federal Government’s Police Force, as it currently exists, pales into a post-colonial outfit that is ready to protect life and property, but oblivious of the environmental requirements of policing.

    It is characterised by mass recruitment of able bodied young men and women of diverse tribes who will be posted to states where they may be handicapped by language barriers and knowledge of geography and sociology of the people and localities they are expected to police.

    In the past, Chief Bisi Akande, former governor of Osun State and pioneer APC Interim National Chairman, submitted that in a federal nation-state, there can be no uniformity of community policing across 36 states. He said the local policing structure should be dictated by peculiarities, identities, needs, and specific circumstances that distinguish the diverse regions, states and local governments.

    Community policing should imply that the local environment is the focal point. Hence, this factor should reflect in recruitment, composition and control. Its envisaged success is hinged on the emotional attachment of community policemen to the community, which they know perfectly, thereby making intelligence gathering much easier.

    Akande queried:”What is the essence of posting a Kanuri as policeman to police Ijebu or Egba in Ogun State? How can a policeman of Enugu origin perform excellently while on police duty in Nupe, Tiv and Hausa/ Fulani states?

    “Will language not be a barrier? Does he know the geography, sociology and custom of his place of assignment? Is devolution of police not the solution? Is state or community not the answer?”

    In the view of the elder statesman, “unless these lines of reforms and restructuring are pursued, the Police may  not live up to expectation in the maintenance of law and order.”

    DEVOLUTION AND COMMUNITY POLICING:

    According to Jibril, “the size and structure of the police force of any nation is determined by its security situation. He said big federal countries opted for state and community policing because of their peculiar security challenges, huge population and dictates of diversity.

    Generally, a key element of state police, in an atmosphere of multi-level policing, is community or grassroots policing. Aremu stated that “this police innovation is based on the philosophical foundation of communication thought.”

    Since it is decentralised, there is an increase in police and community interactions, a concentration on quality of life issues, a concentration on neighbourhood patrols and problem-solving.

    The implication of community or neighbourhood policing is that the police and the local public are involved. Its effectiveness,  according to Aremu, is premised on increased police and community cooperation and partnership aimed at improving the quality of life at the neighbourhood level. 

    “It emphasises a working partnership between police officers and citizens in creative ways to solve community problems relating to crime, fear of crime and neighbourhood disorders,” he added.

    However, community policing imposes new responsibilities on both the police and the community. It is a collective enterprise hinged on mutual confidence whereby the community assists the police with vital and authentic security information and the policemen act on the information while determining, identifying and solving local problems.

    Aremu pointed out that in countries where community policing is practised,,”there are consistent positive views of the police by the public, high level of job satisfaction on the part of police personnel and positive impact of community policing on police officers.

    He added:”Embracing community policing would not only reduce friction between the police and the public, it would also make the public hold the police in high esteem.”

    However, to ensure effective community policing, the education of the police is important because it would make policemen more receptive to ideas. Reliance on traditional methods of policing may be grossly inadequate.

    Aremu stressed: “The understanding is that proper education of the officer is not only germane to the success of community policing, the officers/recruits must receive conventional police training. This  undoubtedly is lacking in the Nigeria Police where police recruits are trained in the police colleges, using obsolete methods in the 21st century.

    “In a situation where police recruits are not exposed to training on proactive policing, community policing and problem-solving policing, such an officer is not expected to be a responsible cop in the 21st century where policing is nor all about crime fighting, but influencing the community towards services in society in which he or she also has a stake.”

    MERITS AND CONSTRAINTS:

    Fundamentally, state police may be the first critical step towards the redress of lopsided federal principle. Jibril, who agreed with this view, stated that conformity with federalism is important, as it presupposes that federating units are structurally and operationally independent.

    Apart from the advantage of restoration of true federalism, in this respect, the researcher listed other four advantages- a guarantee of more employment opportunities for youths who may enlist in the police, availability of more policemen to combat crime and tackle insecurity, deployment of more policemen for electoral duty of policing the ballot box, and a platform for the effective and judicious use of security votes by governors.

    Jibril, who also listed some constraints, said the constitution is an impediment, unless it is amended; abuse of police by governors and other state functionaries may persist, unless there are safeguards; the fear of separatist agenda may grow and conflict of interest between the federal and state police may develop.

  • Insecurity: Let’s have state police now

    Insecurity: Let’s have state police now

    By Ibrahim Mustapha

    SIR: For the first time, the federal government and states governors have agreed to allow the operation of state police. The agreement was reached during an emergency meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and governors on the rising cases of insecurity and food crises in the country.

    Several attempts were made in the past for their establishment to complement the Nigerian Police Force. There is no gainsaying the fact that centralized security system has failed to address the security challenges bedevilling the country. The Nigeria Police Force is grossly inadequate, overburdened and underfunded. The United Nations (UN) has recommended one police to 300 citizens. However, in Nigeria, the ratio is 1 police to 400 Nigerians. The result is that overwhelmed security challenges have since forced state governors to recruit local vigilante groups to assist them in the war against criminals in their respective states. In fact, virtually, every state has recruited and funded its vigilante group.

    Unfortunately, while these voluntary security outfits have been assisting government on the war against insecurity, their modus operandi seems to be outdated and need total overhauling. Many farming communities in Niger, Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna states have been sacked by bandits

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    Interestingly, most of the countries which operate federalism run federal and state police side by side. The U.S.A which Nigeria copies its federalism operates state police. There is, therefore, nothing wrong for Nigeria to have state police.

    The National Assembly should quickly start the process of amending the 1999 constitution to give it legal backing.

    Yes, opponents of state police will come hard on it. They will argue on the likely abuse, funding and conflict between the two security agencies.

    Of course, there will be need for safeguards to check possible misuse. One way to address it is to have its membership include the security adviser to the governor, opposition parties, civil society organizations, traditional leaders, local government chairmen, retired military personnel etc. The committee will be expected to meet monthly to assess and review strategies.

    On funding, this could come through the monthly security votes, security trust funds, aids and other external sources. On recruitment, training and use of firearms, the state governments could liaise with the office of Inspector General of Police. In any case, the states police are expected to work with the federal police in the area of intelligence sharing and general operations. The state police personnel who are expected to be locally recruited would have full knowledge of their terrains. If they work together as team with the federal counterparts, the menace of insecurity can be easily contained.

    • Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State.

  • Pros and cons of state police

    Pros and cons of state police

    The hottest topic in the land today is security. The reason for this is well known. Our country has been under the siege of criminals in the past 15 years, beginning with the invasion of parts of Borno State by some insurgents operating under the aegis of Boko Haram (western education is a sin).

    Contrary to Islamic tenets, the sect argued that western education is meant  to indoctrinate Muslims to become and think like Whites and I am not being racist here, but merely trying to situate things in their context. Matters came to a head when Muhammad Yusuf, the Boko Haram leader, was killed in police custody.

    Since then, the insecurity net has widened from insurgency to banditry, cattle rustling, kidnapping, herdsmen/farmers skirmishes and other related crimes. The police and other security arms now have their hands full trying to restore law and order. Truth be told, they are stretched because the rate at which crimes are committed daily has overwhelmed the police, civil defence, secret police, and the military, among others.

    But securing the country is still a police job. It will be an understatement to say that the police are finding it difficult to handle this problematic child, despite all the help from related agencies. Crimes being local, criminologists say, are best tackled locally, hence the renewed clamour for state police. I have never been a fan of state police, but if that is the way to go to address this protracted security challenge, so be it.

    State police has its good sides, though. But its abuses in the past, especially in the First Republic, have made many to lose faith in such a force. Certain things must be done before state police can be created. The first is to amend the 1999 Constitution, which provides for a centralised police service and invests the President with the enormous power of control and management of the institution.

    The process of amending the Constitution has begun and the bill passed second reading at the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Amending the Constitution is one thing, making state police to work after its creation is another. If the governors who will run state police do not do what is right and decide to go the way of their precursors in the First Republic, no amount of Constitution amendment will do the trick.

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    The public is clamouring for state police now because the present police appear far removed from the people. They are usually not on the scenes when needed and only appear long after a crime had been committed. Even when they get to the scenes in time, they go after the innocent and not the suspects who it is believed they know. The planned decentralisation of the police is to ensure that crimes are reduced to the barest minimum and not used to hunt down political opponents as witnessed in the First Report.

      We have seen what security outfits can do in a society determined to stem the tide of crimes, especially kidnapping, banditry and insurgency. Amotekun in the Southwest, Eastern Security Network in the Southeast and Civilian-Joint Task Force in the Northeast, among others, have been helping the police in their respective regions to fight crimes. Turning these outfits to state police will  have consequences because the equation changes once they become constitutionally recognised.

      Temptations will set in as the governors, some of who have even been using the present police to harass their perceived enemies, may become larger than life with a full force under their control. The Houses of Assembly which should naturally act as a buffer in such situations are unfortunately already in the governors’ pockets. The character of the head of the police force also matters. Will he be an officer beholden to his appointor or will he be true to his calling and serve diligently?

      State police may be an idea which time has come in the prevailing security situation we find ourselves as a nation, but things should be set right in creating it to avoid its being used to settle scores in the heat of a political acrimony that could burst out at any time by those expected to protect the law, people and society at large at all times.

  • Reps pass State Police Bill for second reading

    Reps pass State Police Bill for second reading

    The House of Representatives yesterday passed for second reading a Bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow for the establishment of state police.

    The Bill, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and 14 other members, was passed and referred to the House Committee on Constitution Review.

    But there was fear among some members that some governors may weaponise state police to coerce and victimise their opponents.

    Leading a debate on the Bill, Tolani Shagaya (APC, Kwara) said it would bring back the essence of true federalism and put the states in a vantage position to address matters bordering on insecurity.

    The lawmaker noted that state police would be better placed and prepared to tackle insecurity in various communities and fight crimes accordingly.

    He said state police currently exists in many parts of the country in different forms such as Amotekun and Neighbourhood Watch.

    According to him, the Bill seeks to give legal backing and allow such community security outfits to operate legally.

    Shagaya said the nation’s collective security has been greatly challenged, adding that state policing is not only inevitable but urgently necessary to tackle the mounting insecurity in the land.

    The lawmaker described the establishment of state police as a necessity for a tailored, community-centric policing system and an acknowledgment that the states are uniquely positioned to address the security challenges within their boundaries.

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    He listed some of the key innovations of the proposed legislation to include “the transfer of “Police” from the “Exclusive Legislative List” to the “Concurrent Legislative List”, a move that effectively empowers states to have controlled policing and the introduction of a comprehensive framework to ensure cohesion as well as accountability and uniform standards between the Federal Police and State Police.

    According to him, these also include the provision of prescribed rigorous safeguards to prevent unwarranted interference by the Federal Police in State Police affairs.

    Shagaya stressed that under the state policing system, there would be collaborations and interventions under well-defined circumstances as well as the establishment of State Police Service Commissions, as distinct from the Federal Police Service Commission, with clearly defined roles and jurisdictions.

    The lawmaker said there would also be a re-calibration of the National Police Council to include the Chairmen of the State Police Service Commissions, emphasising the collaborative and consultative nature of policing in today’s federal system; a recognition of the possible financial challenges, which may be faced by States Police by empowering the Federal Government to provide grants or aids, subject to the approval of the National Assembly.

    He added that taking all these issues into consideration would ensure “adequate resources for effective policing, etc”.

    Supporting the second reading of the Bill, Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) said the establishment of a Civilian Joint Task Force in Borno State helped in the fight against Boko Haram and reduced the occupation of the terror group to the barest minimum.

    Also, Awaji-Inombek Abiante (PDP, Rivers) argued that Nigeria has had enough of insecurity, adding that the establishment of state police would ensure that Nigerians could sleep with their eyes closed.

    Aliyu Sani Madaki (NNPP, Kano) said even though he was party to those that killed the Bill in the Seventh and Eighth Assembly on the basis that it could be used as a political tool by governors, recent developments across the country had made it necessary to have state police.

    But Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) and Bello Usman Kumo (APC, Gombe) warned against some governors using state police against perceived political opponents.

    Soli said 21 states are currently battling socio-political and religious crises.

    He expressed the fear that in such states, indigenous policing may not achieve the desired aims.

  • Tinubu, governors agree on state police, war on food crisis

    Tinubu, governors agree on state police, war on food crisis

    • States get nod to strengthen  forest guards in battle against bandits, kidnappers

    Proponents of state police scored a major victory yesterday.

    The Federal Government yielded to calls by states and eminent Nigerians for it.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said the modalities for its establishment and operation will be designed shortly.

    President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima met with governors, the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS) and ministers – FCT, Agriculture and Information – at the State House.

    The emergency meeting, which was held at the Council Chambers, took decisions on how to tackle rising food costs and insecurity, among others.

    President Tinubu also said more personnel would be recruited for the police.

    Ahead of that, he urged states to strengthen their forest rangers/guards.

    Bandits encamp in the forests from where they launch attacks.

    Kidnappers also take their victims into the forest where they are kept during negotiations for ransom payments.

    The President called for collaboration to enable states to increase local food production.

    He believes enough food can be produced locally to avoid imports.

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    President Tinubu pleaded with governors to pay salary arrears, pension and gratuities since states now get more revenue from the federation account.

    “Spend the money, don’t spend the people,” President Tinubu told the governors.

    The President said his administration was evolving home-grown solutions to food security challenges.

    He okayed the establishment of a committee comprising governors and representatives of the Federal Government to, among others, explore the modalities for establishing state police.

    The President further endorsed the training and equipping of forest rangers by sub-national governments to safeguard human and natural resources in local communities.

    According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicly, Ajuri Ngelale, the President said: ‘’My position at this meeting is that we must move aggressively and establish a committee to look critically at the issues raised, including the possibility of establishing state police.

    “From Kano, we have read reports about large-scale hoarding of food in some warehouses.

    “The National Security Adviser (NSA), the Inspector-General of Police, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services should coordinate very closely and ensure that security agencies in the states inspect such warehouses with follow-up action.

    “We must ensure that speculators, hoarders, and rent seekers are not allowed to sabotage our efforts in ensuring the wide availability of food to all Nigerians.

    “What I will not do is to set a price control board. I will not also approve the importation of food.

    “We should be able to get ourselves out of the situation we found ourselves in because importation will allow rent seekers to perpetrate fraud and mismanagement at our collective expense.

    “We would rather support farmers with the schemes that will make them go to the farm and grow more food for everyone in the country.

    “We must also look at the rapid but thoughtful implementation of our livestock development and management plans, including dairy farming and others.”

    President Tinubu urged the governors to trust the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the monetary policy.

    He emphasised the importance of allowing designated institutions to fulfil their mandate.

    He said the “cacophony of postulations” on the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates was unduly affecting the market negatively.

    “Every one of us cannot be an expert. If we have given someone an assignment, let us allow them to do it.

    “If they cannot do it, then we find a way to quickly get them out of the system,” the President said.

    President Tinubu asked the governors to always make the welfare and prosperity of the people a priority of their development programmes.

    He assured them that the Federal Government would continue to work diligently to improve the nation’s revenue profile.

    The President and the governors stressed the importance of working together to address issues of insecurity, food security, and out-of-school children.

    Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) affirmed the governors’ commitment to partnering with the Federal Government.

    In a subsequent briefing, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, elaborated on the meeting’s outcome.

    He was accompanied by Governors Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Ubah Sani (Kaduna) and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta).

    The minister said: “At this point, the nation requires food to be brought out so that we can control prices and put food on the table of most Nigerians.

    “Other commodity traders are busy hoarding these commodities so that Nigerians will suffer or they will make more money as a result. ⁣

    “So the governors and Mr. President have taken this decision that security agencies will collaborate with the state governors to ensure that this ends.”⁣

    On insecurity, the minister said: “Mr. President and the governors discussed the possibility of improving the numerical strength of forest rangers.⁣

    “There were also discussions on state police. The Federal Government and the state governments are mulling the possibility of setting up state police.

    “Of course, this is still going to be further discussed. A lot of work has to be done in that direction.

    “Both the Federal Government and the state governments agree on the necessity of having state police.

    “This is a significant shift. More work needs to be done in that direction.”

  • Insecurity: Tinubu, governors working on state police – Idris

    Insecurity: Tinubu, governors working on state police – Idris

    The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has hinted that President Bola Tinubu and the governors of the 36 states might consider the possibility of setting up state police.

    Idris, who made the disclosure shortly after a meeting between the president and the state governors, on Thursday, February 15, said security agencies will collaborate with the state governors to clamp down on food hoarders.

    The minister spoke while addressing journalists after the meeting.

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    He said: “Now, there is also a discussion around the issue of state police. The federal government and the state governments are mulling the possibility of setting up state police.”

    Idris said that attendees at the meeting agreed on the need for state police but more discussions are still needed on how to implement it.

    “Of course, this is still going to be further discussed. A lot of work has to be done in that direction. Both the federal government and the state governments agree to the necessity of having state police, now this is a significant shift. But like I said, more work needs to be done in that direction.”

  • Again, state police

    Again, state police

    Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has characteristically dismissed the calls for state police as a needless agitation. The governor who spoke on a Channels Television live programme, ”Sunday Politics”, on January 28, said what the security situation in the country demanded was effective collaboration between governors and the Federal Government-controlled security agencies. Uzodinma, who doubles as Chairman of the South East Governors Forum and the forum of governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Progressives Governors Forum, said state police was an expensive venture that many state governments cannot afford.

    “Security is very expensive, and I can’t see any subnational government in Nigeria today that can fund, completely, the cost of providing adequate security in the various subnational governments. So, working together as a federation in synergy with the federal security system… when people say governors are handicapped, I don’t know what they are talking about. Yes, we need the support of the Federal Government; we need to articulate properly, working in synergy with federal security agencies as a subnational government, how we can create a working relationship that will allow us to be on the same page to be able to fight crime in the country.”

    The governor is not done: ” Even when the Federal Government has allowed the vigilante approach, how many states have been able to fund an effective and efficient vigilante organisation? State police will only work if the states are in a position to fund it! So, when we talk about true federalism, we aren’t joking. As I speak, many of our states can’t even fund their existence without an allocation from the Federal Government, and the meaning of government isn’t coming to consume. The meaning of government is that you fend for yourself; you make the money before you can spend it.”

    Two things seem to stand out from the governor’s perspective on state police, given what he was quoted to have said. One is that state police is expensive and many state governments lack the resources to establish it. The other would only seem to suggest that the governor does not see any merit in the idea of state police. At the risk of sounding like the devil’s advocate, I want to believe Governor Uzodinma is not against state police per se; that all he is saying is that many state governments cannot afford to maintain one. This is buffeted by the statement he added that the country needs to restructure such that each state would be able to fend for itself. In other words, our present federal structure does not allow states to be creative to fend for themselves without looking up to the Federal Government every month end for the oxygen to sustain them.

    To this extent, he is probably right.

    But many of his colleagues do not seem to believe that they cannot fund their own police. As a matter of fact, Uzodinma’s colleague in the same south east region, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State,  believes state police is doable. The two governors bared their minds on the subject at the session on Traditional and Non-Traditional Security Intervention, Early Conflict Identification, Prevention, Management and Resolution on day two of the 2023 induction for re-elected and elected governors with the theme: Governing for Impact (Building Sub-national Governance), organised by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) at the presidential Villa, Abuja, in May, last year. As far as Soludo is concerned, every security is local, and security issues are therefore better handled by the locals. “Every locality has its own peculiarities and the most fundamental issue, I think for those of us who are governors, and the governors-elect, a major concern that we need to get onto is the national security architecture and the moderator aptly pointed that out, places much of the kinetic architecture almost exclusively on the shoulders of the Federal  Government, and whereas the states are called upon as chief security officers, but you aptly call us generals without troops, and therefore, state governors have to…I mean, what we’ll be discussing from the point of view of these places are coping mechanisms.”

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    Like Soludo,  Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State also supports the idea of state police. Indeed, Makinde said what I thought should happen when state police comes to fruition. And that is the fact that the Federal Government must necessarily shed some weight in terms of what accrues to it from the Federation Account and transfer same to the states in view of the added responsibility that they would bear in funding their own police. Makinde spoke as recently as last week Tuesday when the South West Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures, led by its chairman and Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye, paid him a visit at the Oyo State Governor’s Office, Ibadan, over the recent explosion in the ancient city.

    Even many of the governors in the north which is perceived as opposed to restructuring (and by extension state police) have spoken in support of state police. As far back as September 2022, the 19 governors under the aegis of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) unanimously expressed support for the establishment of state police in a bid to tackle the activities of insurgents, kidnappers and other criminal activities across the country. Their stance was contained in a communique issued at the end of the meeting with the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, NGF chairman and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, said the meeting reviewed the security situation in the North and other matters relating to its development and resolved to support further amendments of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in the bid to accommodate the establishment of state police.

    Only last year, then Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, appealed to the 9th Assembly to pass the state and community police bill before leaving office; unfortunately, the bill didn’t see the light of the day.

    With this preponderance of opinion on the matter, there is no doubt that state police has the backing of virtually all parts of the country. Indeed, this is one thing that cannot be denied: there is a consensus on the part of many stakeholders that state police is an idea whose time has come because of the dysfunctional nature of the present national security architecture. 

     It is audible to the deaf, and visible to the blind that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), even though it is trying, at least within the limits of what is made available to it, it cannot effectively police the country.

    The tell-tale signs are all too evident. Kidnapping is on the rise, terrorism seems to be spreading. Just last week, three traditional rulers were killed in the hitherto ‘safe’ south west. Bloodbath is witnessed almost on a daily basis in all parts of the country. In the midst of all of these, governors seem powerless as they are chief security officers of their states only in words; they do not even have power over the commissioner of police in their state who reports to the Inspector-General of Police who in turn reports to the president.

    Yet, as we all know, and, as Governor Makinde rightly observed, “…I have never seen where the Federal Government went to a particular state and gave the police everything they needed. So, the states are already maintaining the police.

    “So, the issue of being unable to maintain state police will not arise again. Give us the responsibility first and see if certain states will be able to maintain it or not.”

    Of course, this is true. Hardly is there any state government that is not spending on the federal police.  In 2021, Lagos State spent N3bn to equip the police. And, just last month, billionaire business man Femi Otedola donated N1bn to the state’s security trust fund, that has assisted a lot in ensuring the relative peace that the state enjoys despite its cosmopolitanism and huge population. Many other state governments have similar initiatives through which they inject billions of naira into the NPF to assist them buy sophisticated gadgets that they need to combat crime and ensure better welfare for the officers and men. So, what are we talking about?

    Security is central to whatever we do, whether as individuals, group or even as a nation. That is why it is regarded as the cardinal responsibility of governments. Whatever the shade of insecurity a country is facing, the ability to reduce it to the barest minimum is the raison d’être of the government because there is no country that is completely crime-free, not even in countries with the stiffest of penalties for crime.   

     There is no doubt that we once had our fingers burnt when we had regional police. But that is not to say we can afford to shy away from state police perpetually, even when it is glaring that what we have on ground as security is not serving our purpose satisfactorily. What we need to do is look at why the experiment failed in the past and do the necessary corrections so that it won’t fail again.

    Those who want to police the society must be people who have a good grasp of the terrain; they must have some affinity to the place, know many of the people in the locality, etc.

    Although state police is a constitutional issue, I don’t have any doubt that if the governors want it, they can pull through constitutional amendment to allow for it, especially with a Federal Government that seems sympathetic to the cause.  It seems the only solution to our rising wave of insecurity. The NPF may not like the idea; this is natural. But that should not be a reason we should keep shying away from it. It does not in any way mean death knell for the present federal police, it only helps to reduce its burden for effectiveness as every branch of the police would have its areas of jurisdiction. States without resources to fund their own police can then depend exclusively on the federal police. But we would know that is strictly by choice. 

  • It’s time for state police, says Katsina governor

    It’s time for state police, says Katsina governor

    Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda has again said states should be allowed to establish their police commands.

     He said this would enable states to provide tight security for the people in their domains.

     Radda spoke at a two-day “Roundtable on Insecurity in Northern Nigeria” held at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) yesterday in Abuja.

    The governor noted that allowing states to establish their police commands would replace existing security outfits created by some state governments to fight insecurity, despite the fact that they were not traditional law enforcement agencies.

     He said: “The Northwest region, particularly in recent years, has faced an alarming surge in various forms of insecurity, including banditry, kidnapping, insurgency, and communal conflicts.

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    “These challenges have disrupted the lives of countless Nigerians and hindered economic growth and development in the area. Addressing this crisis requires a concerted effort and a unified approach, transcending state boundaries.

     “To understand the significance of regional cooperation in the fight against insecurity, several factors must be considered. The first is the cross-border nature of insecurity.

     “Our experience with bandits shows that they operate freely between Katsina, Zamfara, and Sokoto. Any effort to push them out of one state leads them to safe havens in neighboring states, and they often return to their original base.”

    Radda also bemoaned the lack of information sharing among states, saying the situation was contributing to a poorly-coordinated approach by different Federal Government’s security agencies operating in the region.

    He said: “The regional approach requires targeted coordination towards socio-economic development to reduce poverty and associated insecurity. To this end, the Northwest governors approached the African Development Bank (AfDB) to solicit investments in agriculture and power.

     “We are now embarking on an inaugural Northwest Peace and Security Summit in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to bring all stakeholders and our best minds together to find solutions to the ongoing insecurity in the region.”

  • State Police: Solution in search of a problem

    State Police: Solution in search of a problem

    • By Nosa Osaikhuiwu

    Nigeria as a country has witnessed astronomical levels of violence, kidnappings, thuggery, banditry and insurgency in the last 20 years, and to date, there is a feeling of general insecurity in the land and a yearning for relatively peaceful good old days. It is in the light of this atmosphere of insecurity that many in and outside the political circle have started the drumbeat for the creation of state police which according to the advocates, will help the nation fully deal with and address the security challenges in the country.

    While I acknowledge the enormity of the security situation in Nigeria and the urgent need to bring this under control, advocating for or creating a state police does not in any way help to address these challenges. State police in my view is a solution in search of a problem. What the Nigerian people have been told or have not bothered to ask about is the threats posed to ordinary citizens and their civil liberties by the creation of such an organization under the control of corrupt and unethical political officeholders in the various states of the federation.

    The reported dust-up between the aides of the dancing governor in the southwest and a renowned politician and former senator over sitting arrangements at a mosque celebration of the Muslim holiday recently is a very telling tale of what will become regular occurrences in many states if state police are created.  It was allegedly reported that some of the governor’s entourage even requested that the commissioner of police arrest and bring in the political opponent for interrogation and questioning on the flimsy grounds that the alleged dust-up was an assassination attempt on the governor.

    Compatriots, this will only be the tip of the iceberg if state police are allowed to see the light of day. This nation with its history and the immaturity of the political class cannot and should not allow itself to be cajoled, hoodwinked or bullied into signing up for this Trojan horse called state police.

    Many reasons have been adduced or put forward by the proponents of state police, chief among which is the need for local control, community policing and the ability to quickly respond to emerging security situations to mention a few. However you look at some of the reasons put forward by advocates of state police, there does exist some merit, but taken in totality the benefits are far outweighed by the risks and negative consequences that will result from implementing state police across our nation. 

    Notwithstanding how the state police architecture is set up and implemented across the various states, the final control will rest with the state’s chief executive officers directly or indirectly through a quasi-independent board appointed by the governor. These outfits will be over politicized and instead of leading to improved security at the state level will lead to further deterioration of security in our various communities. For example, recruits will be partisans of the political party in control of the governor’s office, with many having questionable backgrounds and criminal records, and with the instrument of the force being deployed against perceived political opponents of the sitting governor within and outside the ruling party.

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    Furthermore, creating a state police which is bound to be abused by politicians will lead to major opposition parties creating parallel militias to protect their principals from alleged harassment and intimidation by a state police force in the pocket of state governors. We must consider this in the context of the current breakdown of our society along ethnic and religious lines and the menace from youth involvement in cultism to tread carefully in this haste to create an unnecessary police force for state governments. 

    The situation in Nigeria is very fluid and challenging and one is not trying to minimize the enormity of the situation. But the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Army, and other security services including the intelligence agencies are well-equipped and capable of restoring order in the country, by working more collaboratively and engaging the public for actionable intelligence in their communities whenever there are uncertainties. 

    Indeed these security services have made enormous sacrifices to protect and defend this country from all enemies foreign and domestic and thus deserve our appreciation. Consequently, I wish to extend my congratulations and appreciation on behalf of a grateful nation to our men and women of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police, the Navy and other security services for their service and sacrifice to our nation. 

    We do need to reform our police force to make it respond more quickly to threats by professionalizing the force, computerizing and crime data centres, improving salaries and welfare benefits, but more so, passing the necessary legislation to mandate and facilitate intelligence gathering and sharing between the various security agencies to ensure a better security situation in the country. However, the silver bullet to any improvement in the security situation must have at its core a robust intelligence gathering rooted in a partnership with the public and continuous engagement, because when the public is not fully engaged and on the side of law enforcement, then securing our nation will be a mirage and an insurmountable challenge. 

    Finally, we call on the federal government to immediately work to set up a national emergency centre in each state of the federation, if none exists with access to the national database along with a renewed effort to capture the biometric information of every resident in our country for national planning, security, healthcare and general welfare of citizens. We believe that with a renewed effort, better coordination and partnership with the public, we can better secure our country and stay out of the tragic path of mandating the creation of a state police that ultimately could lead to citizen abuse, political harassment of opponents, intimidation and further violence from cultists who may scheme to control the local police and hound their rival cults. The recent challenges between the Edo State governor and his deputy are a clear warning as to what could happen if states are allowed to control or have their local police force.

    •Osaikhuiwu is an advocate for culture change and the Executive Director of the African Council for Cultural and Economic Renaissance (ACCER).

  • State police – yes and no

    SIR: The idea of creating a multiplicity of police organizations is not new in Nigeria. Many would remember the Akintola years in Western Nigeria when there was a dissemblance of a local police outfit. The local police force attracted negative and derogatory feelings because of their acclaimed ruthlessness and political affinity with the ruling party in Western Nigeria. It must be admitted however that the local government police system was not limited to the West; rather there were such outfits in the North and in the East.

    Today in Nigeria, the clamor for state police and perhaps by inference local police is borne out of various issues, mostly security. Nigeria with an assumed population of over 180m people is presumed to be under-policed. Today probably there is one policeman to about 75,000 citizens. This is not only ridiculous, it is naïve and dangerous. There is a general belief that the police strength nationwide should not be less than 200,000 men and women. It is believed that if Nigeria is properly policed, there will be sufficient men to man essential services, structures, government and private properties etc. In short security which is not absolute anywhere in the world, will be considerably assured in most part of our country.

    As against the above, some who consider themselves proper federalists believe that a federal structure is incomplete without each political unit being able to have, manage and control its on local police force.These advocates refer not only to the United States which is a standard-gauge federal system, but to relatively unified countries of Europe, including the United Kingdom where there are many strata of police institutions. These countries achieve a level of cooperation in combating crimes.

    In our experience, the constitutional and political structure of our country both encourages and discourages the institution of local or state police. In the first place, people refer to the different ethnic groupings that constitute the Nigeria federation. They argue that it is neither possible nor easy for one police man from one far-flung corner of the country to understand and fully appreciate the internal problems of other ethnic groups at the other end of the Nigerian border. That it is only indigenes of the immediate environment that can understand, appreciate, or attempt to solve local issues in the immediate environment. To these advocates of state or local police, indigenization of security force (at police level) is the answer.

    Strong arguments have been put up against localization or indigenization of the police institution. The main complaint is misuse and extreme politicization of the state police. There is no way a local police or state police will not relate to the government or political administrators of the area. This of course leads to avoidable abuse by intolerant politicians and government officials who now have instruments to harass and persecute their enemies.  This invariably leads to societal dislocation and restlessness as we witnessed in most part of Nigeria in 50s and 60s of the last century.

    A police force which command headquarters is hundreds of miles away can hardly be as effective as one would wish, but – again the politician nearby who is head of a state or local police can be tempted to be too ‘trigger-happy’.

    What then are the solutions? Perhaps there are various views as to how the situation can be addressed. One postulate is that the police force should be strengthened to the extent that each state of the federation should be assigned 10,000 to 15,000 policemen. Indeed states with large population should be assigned at least 15,000 to 20,000 policemen. The police force should be fully, fully equipped with modern technique and equipment. The recruitment level should be upgraded to at least West African School Certificate ‘passed’ not just ‘attempted’. The welfare package should be revised to encourage strong and well trained officers to remain in service, to have hope of  climbing the management ladder. Training institutions in the country should be increased and strengthened both in the curriculum and staff.

    The overall monthly income of a recruit should be substantially more than his counterpart who is a clerical officer in the Secretariat.

    Finally, provisions should be made for exchange programs and training courses for policemen and officers among friendly neighboring countries. In-short service in the police force should be so packaged that it will be attractive to our young men and women who are graduates of secondary schools, colleges and universities.

    Some would think that the above situation is unattainable considering our public service system and the state of our economy. It is my belief they are goals that are attainable if the politicians thinkless or take less care of themselves. A country that allows some people to earn N15million a month but cannot afford to pay security operatives N75,000 a month is in a delusion and the cost could be high, ultimately.

     

    • Asiwaju Deji Fasuan MON; JP

     Ado-Ekiti.