State police: Realities, fears and expectations, by Adekunle Adekoya

MIDWEEK, the Senate passed a constitutional amendment bill that will now establish state police in our country. The bill, an executive initiative transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu, officially sets the stage to dismantle the decades-old unitary structure of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, and replace it with a dual model. That new, dual model is now what will be known as  the Federal Police Service and State Police Services.

Great. This development actualises the ageless clamour for state police, which became strident as insecurity worsened in the country, especially since 2011 or thereabouts when Boko haram took a foothold in Borno State and held the entire North-East, and by extension, the whole country, to ransom. Since then hundreds of thousands of fellow Nigerians have been killed, while millions have been forcibly uprooted from their homes and now live in IDP camps. It is however a shame that while not being at war with any other country but with ourselves, some of our fellow compatriots have had to become IDPs in their own country.

So, when the president assents to this bill, we will formally be having two police services. We will have the federal police service, and each of the states will have its own police service. Good. There are fears, expressed in the past and still being expressed, that control of police by state governors will lead to abuse as some state governors can use them against their political opponents. Others say that with state police, no political party, except that of the incumbent, can win election in a state whose police is controlled by the governor, etc, etc. And I ask, is the Nigeria Police Force that we have known over the years saintly? Have they not been used by federal authorities for political advantage? Are they also not used during elections?

My take is that the solo police modae that we have had is no longer working for us, and we need to have a new system. It is safe to assume that we inherited the present police system from the United Kingdom, which colonised our country. But today, there are 48 police forces in the UK. According to Wikipedia, these consist of 39 territorial police forces in England, four in Wales, one in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. Each is responsible for most law enforcement and crime reduction in its police area.

The territorial police forces of England and Wales are overseen by the Home Office and by a police and crime commissioner or other police authority, although they are operationally independent from government. The other three police forces are the British Transport Police (BTP), the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), and the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP), which provide specialist policing services. In addition, the National Crime Agency (NCA) is primarily tasked with tackling organised crime and has been compared to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States.

Noting that the presidential system of government we operate now was copied from the United States, it is interesting to know that there are 17,985 police agencies in the United States which include local police departments, county sheriff’s offices, state troopers, and federal law enforcement agencies. The law enforcement purposes of these agencies are the investigation of suspected criminal activity, referral of the results of investigations to state or federal prosecutors, and the temporary detention of suspected criminals pending judicial action. It is on record that the New York Police Department, NYPD is the largest municipal police force in the world, and according to an online resource, has 55,000 employees which includes over 33,000 to 36,000 uniformed officers and roughly 15,000 to 19,000 civilian personnel. 

While we’re at it, some questions for our political managers, especially the state governors. What preparations are on ground by them for the smooth uptake and take-off of police in their states? Any groundwork done yet? If the governors are proactive, some things should have been worked on long ago, such as uniform, office accommodation, operational needs like vehicles and such other things should have been decided on. I don’t expect Ogun Police to wear the same uniform as Enugu Police, for instance.

And at the federal level, how exactly do we proceed? After the Inspector-General of Police must have chosen those he wants to retain in the federal police, would others be asked to go to their states of origin? And all those specialised units of the police that we know, would the states also have them? More questions. How would the state governments handle existing policing structures that are not recognised by the constitution, but are nonetheless useful? I speak of entities like Amotekun in the South-West, the Vigilante Corps, and Hisbah Corps in many northern states. Would they be integrated into the state police services?

As we go into the future with the new police system, let us all bear some things in mind: our lives will not be the same again with state police. We must get our governors to be ready to fund their police so that they can deliver optimal services and secure our people. The future is pregnant, and we must make sure it births benefits for our common good. TGIF.

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