With the majority of the governors of the 36 states of the federation at the 147th National Economic Council held on the 12th of December, 2024 declaring their support for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of state police forces, it appears that a consensus has been reached on that long debated issue and it is only a matter of time before the states are endowed with policing powers; an item which is presently the exclusive preserve of the federal government by the provisions of Section 214 and Part 1 of the 2nd Schedule of the Constitution.
The widespread insecurity, which has ravaged the country for decades now with no solution in sight, led to a renewed Clamour for the sub-nationals to have their own respective police forces, given the seeming inability of the federal government to tame the scourge of wanton killings and destruction of properties. The argument has been that with state policing, there would be an exponential rise in the number of security personnel which will improve the personnel to citizen ratio which stands at an abysmal 1:650, falling way short of the United Nations recommendation of 1 personnel to 460 citizens. This increase would boost the nation’s primary internal security agency’s ability to more effectively dominate crime and criminals. Another argument is that local policing will better counter crime through the recruitment of persons from indigenous communities who have a better knowledge and mastery of the terrain and culture of the people of the State.
Despite the laudable goals of state policing which are hard to ignore, there are also potential new or heightened problems which could confront the nation with its introduction. Most concerning of these potential problems is the abuse of state police forces by governors and other politicians in that, they could be used to persecute political opponents and even members of opposing ethnic and/or religious groups. Memories of what happened in the first republic with the native police forces are still too fresh in the conscious of the nation to overlook the possibility of a reoccurrence.
However, we should not throw away the baby with the bath water. There are mechanisms which we as a nation can adopt to ensure that we reap the benefits of state policing while making the abuse of it unlikely. These systems will make state forces more institutionalised and less susceptible to manipulation by local politicians. We should borrow a leaf from the judicial system obtainable here at home. While the Constitution allows for State High Courts, it centralizes the appointment, discipline and control of judges such that the Courts are largely immune from the shenanigans of state governors. Despite the fact that the State High Courts are funded by the state governments, appointment of judges is made by state governors only on the strict recommendation of the National Judicial Council(NJC) by the provision of Section 271(1) and (2) of the Constitution. The NJC is also the body responsible for the discipline of judges by way of suspension or recommendation for removal.
It is in this same vein, that this article recommends that the commissioner of police of a state police force should be appointed by the state governor on the recommendation of the National Police Service Commission and subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly. Only the National Police Service Commission should have the power to suspend or recommend the removal of the commissioner. These measures will aid in no small measure in ensuring that state police forces are not just another appendage of state governors and ruling politicians by removing the control of the hierarchy from their grasp.
Personnel of the state police forces should be recruited by the National Police Service Commission on request by the State Police Service Commissions. The national body should also be responsible for the discipline of erring officers and men. Â This would ensure that state governors and their local allies do not get to employ persons loyal to them and their political causes or from their ethnic or religious groups alone into the force thereby preventing them from becoming a tool for political, ethnic or religious persecution.
It is trite that every federation such as Nigeria, has its peculiarities which shapes its institutions; thus, no two Federations are exactly the same. Given the history of abuse of power and ethno-religious conflict in Nigeria, it is pertinent that we adopt a policing model which is less prone to sectional manipulations. The quasi-federal model has worked for the Nigerian judiciary for close to a century now and so should be adopted for the state police.
Nnaemeka Emma Chikezie Esq is a legal practitioner based in Kaduna State. He can be reached on 08160378991
