The Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun has opposed the establishment of state Police, saying the country was not ripe for it.
Egbetokun stated this during a one-day dialogue on state policing, themed, ‘Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria’ on Monday.
He stated that the establishment of state Police would exacerbate ethnic tension, leading to divided loyalty in the states.
“On the issue of state police, it is the submission of the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) that Nigeria is not yet mature and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police”, the IGP, represented by Assistant Inspector General Ben Okolo said at the event organised by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas”.
The IG said that the establishment of state police will also lead to multiple command structures in the states.
He also claimed that state governors were likely to abuse the privilege of state police by using it for political gains, leading to possible abuse of power and abuse of human rights.
“State governors could use the police forces under their control for political or personal gain and undermine human rights and security. There would also be a conflict of jurisdiction,” he noted.
He argued the state Governments lacked the required funding that would give birth to the type of policing that the nation requires.
He also said there was the need for a yearly recruitment of about 30,000 police personnel into the Force annually to meet the UN requirements for modern policing, while also increasing annual budgetary allocation to the Force.
Rather than establishing state police across the country, he recommended merging the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Federal Road Safety Commission to form departments in the Nigeria Police Force.
Organised by the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the dialogue is the beginning of deliberations 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 was designed to improve public safety and strengthen law enforcement in Nigeria by decentralising the police. The proposal in the bill provides for state police alongside the federal police and outlines a constitutional framework for states that choose to establish and maintain their service.
Nigerians remain underserved by the current policing system. There are about 371,000 police officers to 223 million citizens, and about two-thirds of them are deployed to protect VIPs. In the First Republic, policing was devolved to the regions.
