On Monday, July 2, 2024, chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum and Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, agreed, in principle, to establish state police as part of the measures to check the rising wave of insecurity across the country.
While commiserating with the Abia State government on the killings of police officers on Sunday, 30th, June 2024, the governor backed the calls for the creation of state police. It would be recalled that he had agitated for state policing during his inauguration as the Chairman, Southern Governors’ forum on June 24th, in Abeokuta. Though, the state policing issue has been on the front burner of public discourse for many years, it has generated considerable controversy. A number of citizens are against state police because of the fear of abuse by state governors. They argue they will deploy the security outfit against their political rivals. However, the majority of Nigerians, irrespective of party leanings and the governors, who are chief security officers of their respective states, believe it is time state police is established.
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 vital from the above that only a constitutional amendment can lead to the formation of state police. Unfortunately, none of the 68 Constitution Amendment bills voted on by the National Assembly in 2022, included the issue of state police, despite the worsening insecurity in the country.
How can one Inspector-General of Police, even if he were super human, from Abuja, determine the security architecture for every village and hamlet in a vast territory with over 250 ethnic nationalities, having disparate backgrounds, languages and cultures? The general opinion is that the Owo massacre, among many others, might have been prevented or the environment made difficult for such a grisly attack if we had state police.
While we acknowledge the possible flipside of a constitutional police decentralisation, we believe the merits far outweigh any potential demerits. Besides, no state helmsman will be invested with absolute control over the police outfit.
With Boko Haram terrorist attacks, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery, and kidnapping for rituals ravaging the country, it is time for state police. Law enforcement officers will be exceptionally effective in combating crime when they work among their own people and in their own terrain or local environment.
Every developed society operates a multi-layer policing system. Nigeria cannot be an exception. We restate the call on the National Assembly to expedite the process of constitutional amendment leading to the establishment of state police. and urging the federal legislators to act with promptitude on its passage.
It would be recalled that Prince Dapo Abiodun in April this year donated 25 security patrol vehicles and surveillance drones to the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun in order to beef up the security of lives and property of residents of the state.
This is a clarion call for other governors in the country to support efforts aimed at tackling insecurity in their respective states, domains or territories, in order to significantly enhance the safety and well-being of their communities.
Òrúnbon wrote from Abeokuta, Ogun State
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