By Abadom Lawrence Amechi
I STRONGLY believe Nigeria urgently needs state police because our security architecture has become dangerously disconnected from today’s realities.
Security is first local before it is national. The people’s language, culture, environment, religious practices and social relationships impacts on the quality of intelligence and the speed of response.
The speed with which both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed what is reported as the State Police Bill should concern every well-meaning citizen. The bill seeks to fundamentally alter the security arrangement of the country and it must be painstakingly crafted.
The ugly insecurity challenge across the country has exposed the failure of over-centralisation. Abuja cannot police every village. Bandits, kidnappers, terrorists have proven it. One command from a distant office cannot work. Over-centralisation has failed and it must be laid to rest.
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The Nigeria Police Force, as it is today, has failed woefully. It faces severe hurdles: underfunding, manpower shortages, serious welfare issues and widespread corruption.
Even in a digital age, our policing is still analogue. We lack equipment for modern threats, and tens of thousands of officers have been diverted from public duty to guard VIPs. These challenges are made worse by a deep trust deficit between the police and the public. The police at a point were seen as a threat to citizens it is supposed to protect.
With about 370,000 officers across the country for an estimated population of over 220 million people, the ratio is roughly 1 police officer to 600 citizens. That is far below UN recommendations. Over the years, we have seen some police duties been unbundled with the creation of agencies like EFCC, Civil Defence, NDLEA, and ICPC. They have taken a lot of burden off the police. But even with less work, it is clear that no form of reform can save the force, as it is today, from inevitable decline.
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Down through the ages, transformative reforms have rarely come from convenience. Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. Necessity produces transformation. When Yar’Adua fell ill, the doctrine of necessity was invoked to create a path for former President Goodluck Jonathan to take over and keep the state afloat. Those who frown at state police should know this: the current state of insecurity has made it necessary. There is no going back. We are past the debate of “do we need state police?” The question now is: what structure will give us the most effective operational performance?
The question is not whether state police is necessary, but what kind of policing we want at the state. The legislative work must not be rushed. The framers must build strong safeguards into the bill, because many Nigerians fear that state governors will abuse it. The law needs public scrutiny. It must not be hidden, so we do not repeat what happened with the tax bill. For it to become law, it must be approved by two-thirds of state legislatures. That stage must not be bypassed.
The speed with which both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed what is reported as the State Police Bill should concern every well-meaning citizen. The bill seeks to fundamentally alter the security arrangement of the country and it must be painstakingly crafted.
While our insecurity situation is dire and requires urgent measures, it would be bad to foist on Nigerians a system that is dead on arrival. The State Police Bill cannot be counted as an achievement by itself. It is the fruit Nigerians will use to judge this government. It can only work if proper legislative work is done on it.
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If we are to chart a new path, the bill must study why the current police structure is not as effective as expected. We must avoid replicating at the state level what has already failed at the national level. Issues such as poor working conditions, lack of psychological evaluations during recruitment, and lack of specialised training have led to excessive use of force and, sometimes, extrajudicial killings. This has damaged the force’s reputation and must be addressed.
Also, deep-rooted historical grievances, brutality, and a weak civilian oversight body — the Police Service Commission — which lacks independent investigative capacity, have eroded public confidence. At the state level, these safeguards must be made stricter, and their functions must be known to citizens.
The survival of state police rests in the hands of state executives and the judiciary. The law must guide policing, and the judiciary must ensure that the excesses of officers are trimmed and pruned by the sword of justice. If the judiciary relapses to the point where court pronouncements against the police wrong doings are flouted with impunity, then nothing can save it.
The major fear critics of state police express is the long-standing concern about abuse by state governors. Many fear that state police would become instruments of political intimidation, and that it would become difficult for a sitting governor to lose an election. Drawing from experience, the Federal Government has, over the years, used the police to punish perceived enemies under both military and civilian rule. That is not new. One can only hope that part of the safeguards will be to avoid giving state governors unlimited control over the force.
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Governors must understand that security is not just the absence of violence. Peace and order cannot be guaranteed in an environment that lacks opportunities.
Good governance reduces crime. Corrupt government encourages crime and criminality more than any other factor. That is why we say: the state creates crime, and criminals commit it.
A governor who pockets security votes, who denies the fund exists, who uses it to sponsor religious pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia or Israel, or who spends it on political patronage, should not expect that peace will be served a la carte. Effective modern policing is expensive. But it is possible.
Modern policing has been revolutionised by technology, shifting operations from reactive responses to proactive, intelligence-led strategies. Key technological advancements allow agencies to enhance public safety, optimise officer workflows, and solve complex cases. For example, algorithms can analyse historical crime data to predict where crimes are likely to occur. This allows departments to pre-emptively deploy patrols to high-risk areas.
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Drones and remote camera systems provide situational awareness before officers arrive on a scene. Body-worn cameras enhance transparency. They collect vital video evidence and improve both officer behaviour and public trust.
There are several other technologies available. If we stop the haemorrhaging of our treasury, there will be more than enough funds to finance policing at the local level.
Every government agency that is weak today was made weak by government, not by citizens, because government provides the example that citizens follow.
The survival of state police rests in the hands of state executives and the judiciary. The law must guide policing, and the judiciary must ensure that the excesses of officers are trimmed and pruned by the sword of justice. If the judiciary relapses to the point where court pronouncements against the police wrong doings are flouted with impunity, then nothing can save it.
