The call for state police as a response to the worsening security situation in the country reached an unusual height last week, with many Nigerians and groups from across the country lending their voices to the issue which until now had remained contentious.

While some groups sustained their push for the establishment of state police, others kicked against the idea, pointing out the potential shortcomings in the creation of a police command that would be under the control of state governors and other people in authority. Even then, there is cautious optimism in some quarters. The upsurge in attacks by bandits and sudden rise in cases of kidnapping in different parts of the country in recent weeks have provoked the declaration of nationwide security emergency by President Bola Tinubu.

The president, as part of the highlights of the security emergency declaration, called on the National Assembly to review laws to allow states to establish state police where necessary and urged local authorities and religious institutions to improve security measures.

The proposal received a major boost when the governors of the 19 northern states and traditional rulers last week affirmed their support for state police in a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting held in Kaduna. The leaders, who were emphatic in their view that the current centralised security architecture is too fragile to adequately address the nation’s security challenges, expressed their support for reforms that will enhance security across the region.

The forum also expressed its resolve to renew its support for every step taken by the president and the Commander-in-Chief to take the fight to the insurgent’s enclave in order to end the criminality in the region. “The Forum reaffirms its wholehearted support and commitment to the establishment of state police,” the communiqué said, calling on federal and state lawmakers from the North to act quickly.

Renewed calls for state police

While Nigerians await the deliberation on the matter at the National Assembly, major ethnic-based groups across the country have continued to lend their voices to President Tinubu’s call for state police. The Igbo National Council (INC) and the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) expressed support for the proposal, noting that the establishment of state police would go a long way in addressing the security challenge in the country.

The President General of the council, Chilos Godsent said the creation of state police would aid in stemming the security challenge in the country. He said: “With the inability of the Nigerian Police Force to effectively combat criminality and banditry in different states of Nigeria, the Igbo National Council (INC) has renewed the call for the establishment of state police.

“State Police will enhance patriotism and efficiency because the operatives will have deep knowledge of the terrain, norms, values and culture of the people.”

Similarly, Goodluck Ibem, President General of COSEYL said state police will be a game changer in the country’s quest for a lasting solution to security challenges.

“The existing policing framework has proven inadequate in safeguarding our communities from growing threats. A decentralised police force tailored to our regional needs will be a game-changer.

“Given the alarming rate of insecurity, ranging from banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, and localised violence across regions, it has become evident that the current centralised policing system is overstretched and ineffective in responding swiftly to local threats.

“State policing offers a community-based approach, allowing trained personnel who are familiar with local environments, languages, and dynamics to tackle crime and maintain peace more efficiently. Where unique security challenges persist, the establishment of a state-controlled security structure is not only necessary but urgent.

“We support constitutional reforms to legalise and operationalise state police across the federation,” Ibem stated.

He added, however, that proper checks and balances must be established to prevent abuse by state actors, adding that recruitment should be based on merit, competence, and community representation to build public trust.

Dr. Bitrus Pogu, President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), expressed the view that there should even be a third layer of policing at the local government level in addition to state police.

“We have copied the American system; the American system goes even beyond the state police to county police. The peculiarities exist, especially in the north, where there are states that have a mixed group of people and experiences. So, as we are advocating for state police to bring policing closer to the people, it’s good to go all out and allow also for local government police.”

As a way of reducing the cost of its implementation, Pogu suggested the decentralisation of the Nigerian police, and made a case for the posting of police personnel to their states of origin. This, he noted, would transmute into state police.

“We could start by decentralising the national police, and the personnel will go back to their states and serve under the state structure for a start. And then, we have the federal police as the special unit that can be deployed for whatever reason, similar to what we have in America, where we copied the system that we are using.”

The President General of Mzough U Tiv (MUT), Worldwide, Chief Iorbee Ihagh, welcomed President Tinubu’s call for state police, saying the move aligns with MUT’s long-time agitation.

He said: “We have been talking about it in the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere, in the South-South, Mzough U Tiv, the Middle Belt, that we have copied the presidential system of government from America and that is exactly what America is doing. Apart from the federal police, America has the state police. All the 50 states have their police.

“In Benue State, if we had state police, all these policemen coming to assist the herdsmen wouldn’t be there. There is Boko Haram, ISWAP and other terrorist groups in the police, army and all the security agencies and when they are in the state they do everything based on their plan which is building Nigeria to be an Islamic state.

“So, I’m with the President 100 per cent on this and all those people pushing for state police, I’m in total support of it and I think it should take off immediately. All the states are ready for it,” Ihagh, a retired chief of the Nigerian Correctional Service, said.

In the South West, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said the firm position taken by President Bola Tinubu on state police is apt, timely and pertinent.

National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Mr Jare Ajayi, when contacted, stated that it was a good thing that governors in both the Southern and Northern parts of the country have agreed to have state police.

“It is gratifying that state governors in the South and the North have finally agreed to go for state police. It’s a position we in Afenifere have been clamouring for, since a long time.

“We believe that the nitty-gritty of security should be local while the holistic aspects can be central. By that, we mean security issues that are national in nature.

“So, now that “the federal and state governments have shown commitment to state police, the National Assembly and States Houses of Assembly should expedite action in reviewing the relevant sections of the Constitution to let us have state police immediately.”

Also, the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), said the group is firmly in support of the president’s proposal for the establishment of state police in Nigeria, describing it as a ‘welcome development’.

The Secretary General of YCE, Chief Oladipo Oyewole, said the move is not an innovation, but a return to the past when local government police handled security matters locally.

Oyewole argued that state police would be more effective in addressing security challenges, as its operatives would be familiar with the terrain and the residents, and would not be easily transferred. He listed other benefits of state police to include improved community policing, better intelligence gathering, and enhanced security for residents.

YCE’s position aligns with that of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), which posited that the establishment of state police is long overdue. INC president, Prof. Banjamin Okaba who made the position of the forum known, however, called for caution in the implementation of the proposal to guard against the tendency of deploying it for selfish political reasons.

Northern groups kick

But there are dissenting voices from the north. While the Middle Belt Forum, (MBF) a group in the North Central Region, welcomes the Federal Government’s push for the creation of state police, another northern group, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) views the move as an invitation to anarchy. CNG Coordinator, Comrade Jaliu Aliu Charanchi, dismissed the argument that state police is the only way out of the nation’s security quagmire.

According to him, state governors will abuse the use of the new security outfit. “In fact, the governors are the major problem; they don’t allow things to work the way they’re supposed to. I wonder why they are always calling for state police.

“The only reason these governors are insisting on state police is to be in control of the police so that they can use them to molest, intimidate, harass their opponents whenever it is time for election,” Charanchi said.

He challenged state governors to agitate for a proper funding of the Nigeria Police Force, adding: “We know that the Nigeria police are underfunded, they have shortage of personnel; they have a lot of problems here and there. We should standardise the federal police, give them all they need and put our eyes on them. If they don’t work, we deal with them. Create a means of reward and punishment in the federal police.

Arewa group calls for caution

In another vein, another northern group, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), called for caution as the push for state police gathers momentum. The National Publicity Secretary of the forum, Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba, in a chat with Saturday Sun, expressed the fear that state police, if created, could be misused by those in authority.

He said the creation of state police is attractive under the present circumstances, describing it as something that should be approached with caution and circumspect.

“In particular, the potential for misuse by those in authority are poignant and should be addressed. Proper funding, equipment, recruitment, training and deployment, liaison with federal authorities should be thoroughly thought through and not rushed.

“I am all for the strengthening of the existing police, insulating them from politics, giving them proper training and equipment as well as embedding them in communities such that the communities have a say in their operations. Ours, therefore, for want of a better word, is what you can call cautious pessimism,” he stated. (The Sun)