The head of the Nigeria Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, has disagreed with having State Police, stating that the country was not ready for it.
During a discussion on state policing titled ‘Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria’, Egbetokun expressed this view.
He explained that introducing state Police would worsen ethnic conflict and create divided allegiance in the states.
“In regard to state police, the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) believes that Nigeria is not yet mature and prepared for the establishment of state-controlled police,” said the IGP, who was represented by AIG Ben Okolo, at the event organized by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas.”
The IG, represented by Assistant Inspector General of Police Ben Okolo, also mentioned that having state police would create multiple command structures within the states.
He also alleged that state governors might exploit the authority of state police for political purposes, which could lead to misuse of power and human rights violations.
“State governors could manipulate the police forces under their control for political or personal gain, thus undermining human rights and security. There would also be a conflict of jurisdiction,” he pointed out.
He argued that state Governments did not have the necessary funding to support the type of policing needed by the nation.
He also stated the need for an annual recruitment of around 30,000 police personnel into the Force to meet the UN requirements for modern policing, and to increase the annual budget allocation for the Force.
Rather than implementing state police nationwide, he suggested combining the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Federal Road Safety Commission to create departments within the Nigeria Police Force.
The dialogue, which was organized by the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, marked the beginning of discussions on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (alteration) bill 2023 (Establishment of State Police) sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu and 13 others.
The bill aimed to enhance public safety and reinforce law enforcement in Nigeria by decentralizing the police. It proposed the inclusion of state police alongside federal police and provided a constitutional framework for states opting to establish and maintain their own service.
The current policing system fails to adequately serve the people of Nigeria. With only about 371,000 police officers for 223 million citizens, and approximately two-thirds of them assigned to protect VIPs, Nigerians are underserved. Policing was decentralized to the regions during the First Republic.
