The case for state police in Nigeria

The call for state police in Nigeria keeps getting louder. And indeed by the day, its relevance continues to stare us in the face. From the state government officials to regional leaders, there is an overwhelming demand for state governments to have a security apparatus that will fill the gap which currently exists in the country’s existing policing architecture.

No one is in doubt that Nigeria does not exhibit the features of true federalism due to the absence of state police. In other climes, both the federal and state police units complement each other for optimal security provision. But this call has not received the kind of attention it deserves. This really baffles most Nigerians given the deepening in the land. To worsen matters, President Muhammadu Buhari, in one of his interviews, outrightly dismissed the calls for state police in Nigeria.

It is relevant to note that despite the presence of the Nigerian military, police, and other sister agencies, the governors of Zamfara and Borno states had to send a save a soul message to the federal government lamenting that some local government areas in their respective states were under the control of bandits.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new security apparatus that will complement the existing federal police. In other words, the time to introduce state policing is now

Further, Idris Muhammad Gobir, a former chairman of Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State and who is currently an aide to the Minister of Police Affairs lamented how bandits imposed taxes on 59 Sokoto communities. In Niger, Katsina, and Kaduna states, bandits also impose levies with reckless abandon on Nigerian citizens who the current administration swore to protect. This shows how much power non-state actors can wield during insecurity situations.

Obviously, it is not only banditry that is threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria; kidnapping has gone a step further as it has now become a daily occurrence. There is hardly a state in Nigeria, which has not experienced this daily scourge.

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According to Statistics, 838 Nigerians were kidnapped in 2018 out of which 176 were charged to court. Fast forward to 2021, over 2,500 Nigerians were abducted across the federation, including prominent individuals such as emirs, obas, clergymen, and academics. In addition, over N7 billion was paid by families, associates, and friends of the kidnapped victims as ransoms to secure the release of their beloved ones. In fact, some victims were not as lucky as they died even after their family members had paid the ransom demanded by these non-state actors. In essence therefore and over time, a cottage industry has evolved into full stature before our very eyes, and its name is-kidnapping.

Interestingly, in the last few months, the Nigerian armed forces, supported by other sister security agencies launched an onslaught on these terrorists. Rather than surrendering, those that were lucky to escape the onslaught changed their tactics by moving from the desert terrains in the north to the rain forests in southern Nigeria. This is only possible because the current policing system as implemented does not have the capacity to provide adequate security provisions in every nook and cranny of Nigeria. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new security apparatus that will complement the existing federal police. In other words, the time to introduce state policing is now.

Many arguments have been advanced against and in favour of state police. We will not discountenance the arguments put forwards by antagonists of state police. But it should be noted that the advantages of having a complementary outfit to the current policing structure, outweigh the demerits.

One of the arguments put forward against the introduction of state police is the likelihood of having a repeat of the high-handedness of the native police during the colonial era and immediately after independence. Antagonists also argue that politicians in their bid to remain in power could abuse the state policing system.

In addition, they opine that most of the sub-national governments in Nigeria are almost insolvent as demonstrated in their inability to pay workers’ salaries and other obligations without recourse to Abuja. In this regard, it is argued that these sub-national governments lack the financial wherewithal to successfully finance state policy system in terms of salary payment, provision of infrastructure, equipment, training, and other cogent matters relating to their welfare.

On the other hand, the protagonists of state police will not have any of the above-mentioned reasons. According to them, with the population growing at 3 percent for which the Nigerian population is currently over 200 million, the existing federal police cannot address insecurity effectively due to a shortage of manpower. Also, in a federal structure such as the one Nigeria purports to practise, both the federal and governments have the legitimate rights to have policing structures only that the state policing structures have to complement the federal police structure.

The argument that most of the states are insolvent may not be tenable because there are some states in Nigeria today that if they were to exist as independent countries, will be richer than some of the countries on the continent of Africa. In that case, they will not only have police, other important security architectures such as the army, navy, police, secret police, and customs will be in operations. As a result, since states will not be compelled to have state police, those that have the financing capacity to maintain it, should not be denied.

The ubiquitous manner in which crimes occur in every nook and cranny of contemporary Nigeria is a clear pointer to the fact that the current federal policing structure cannot provide optimal security provisions for Nigeria and Nigerians. A sole policing structure is even something of an oddity in a supposedly Federal system like ours. Consequently, the time is ripe for state police in Nigeria. It is certainly an idea whose time has come.