Source: Yakubu Mohammed

Nigerian Police officers

Today, the House of Representatives commences a public hearing into the proposed establishment of state police in Nigeria.

The hearing to be conducted by the House Committee on Constitution Review will provide Nigerians with the opportunity to provide input into the State Police Bill before the National Assembly.

Committee Chairperson and Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, explained to journalists on Thursday that the bill seeks to improve response time and align policing with international standards.

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.

Mr Kalu, who just returned from Geneva, Switzerland, where he represented Nigeria at the 55th WTO-Inter-Parliamentary Union Public Forum, argued that the country’s current centralised policing system was inadequate and lagged behind global best practices, hence the urgent need for state police as a solution to the security challenges.

“The only way we can achieve this is by unbundling the centralised structure, just as other countries operate municipal and state policing systems,” he said.

Through the exercise, some individuals and groups hope for a concrete roadmap to improve security in the country, while others come with caution, aware of potential abuses should the system be poorly managed.

Unending insecurity

Nigeria has, in the last decade, grappled with multiple security challenges bordering on terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, militancy, and farmer-herder clashes, leading to the loss of lives and destruction of properties.

The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) is expected to be at the forefront of fighting and containing the escalating security challenges.

However, among its many problems, the police are understaffed and under-equipped, leading to the militarisation of internal security, especially since the Boko Haram insurgency started.

Apart from the militarisation of internal security, observers have blamed Nigeria’s inefficient policing on structural challenges, underfunding, poor equipment, limited manpower, lack of public trust and corruption.

Thus, as Nigeria grapples with rising insecurity, authorities ponder the best approach to curtail it.

State police: A longtime agitation

The call for state policing is not new. In the build-up to Nigeria’s independence, the country’s founding fathers argued over regional policing (the federating units in Nigeria then were regions), which was eventually not accepted, despite the existence of some form of local policing at local levels.

After the return to democracy in 1999, governors, civil society and security experts began to advocate for decentralised policing as insecurity worsened. But Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution restrained states from creating their own police forces. The document recognises only a central police force for the country.

However, the #EndSARS protests in 2020 further amplified demands for police reform, while recent years, especially 2024, have seen stronger political and legislative momentum, with governors, lawmakers and traditional rulers openly backing constitutional amendments to formally establish state police.

Moves for the creation of state police received further boost when, in February last year, President Bola Tinubu and the governors spoke in its support.

Hopeful proponents

Proponents like Messrs Tinubu and Kalu argue that the centralised policing model is increasingly inadequate. Governors, civil society, and many experts say that state police would bring law enforcement closer to local communities and enable timely responses to security threats.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu (PHOTO CREDIT: X @NigAffairs)

In April 2024, President Tinubu, at the National Dialogue on State Policing, said his commitment to reforming the Nigeria Police Force and enhancing national security was “unwavering,” describing state policing not as just a policy idea but as a potential milestone in the evolution of the nation’s law enforcement that would allow policing more responsive to local needs.

At the same event, former President Goodluck Jonathan said that there is “no need to debate” about state police. Mr Jonathan noted that the creation of state police was accepted at the 2014 National Conference.

Former president Goodluck Jonathan

Voices of caution

Despite the appeal, critics warn that establishing state police may open the door to misuse and politicisation, which could lead to human rights abuses.

Yusuf Gagdi, a lawmaker representing Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam Federal Constituency in Plateau State in the House of Representatives, is one of those opposing the creation of state police.

“My position, even on the floor of the House, is that governors will misuse state police, particularly against political opponents,” he said, adding that state policing will not be used to maintain peace and order.

Rather, Mr Gagdi advocated for strengthening the existing security agencies. While emphasising the need for accountability, the APC lawmaker urged the government to adequately fund the police, the SSS and other security outfits.

He is not a lone critic. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, had said that Nigeria is not “mature” to adopt state policing.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun

Like Mr Gagdi, the police boss said, “There is the potential for abuse of power by the state political leadership.”

“State governors could use the police forces under their control for political or personal gain and undermine human rights and security,” he said. “There would also be a conflict of jurisdiction.”

Mr Egbetokun called for more funding for the NPF and lamented how insufficient manpower hindered the deployment of police to troubled areas.

“Though an increment is taking place and has improved the number of personnel in the force. This remains insufficient when compared to the one policeman to 400 citizens ratio recommended by the United Nations,” the police boss said in 2023.

“As of now, the police-citizen ratio is one to 604 in view of the growing population; therefore, the NPF requires an additional 190,000 personnel to be at par with the UN recommendation ratio,” he added.

Expectations at public hearing

Today’s public hearing will serve as a platform for both proponents and opponents to present their cases.

Many state governors and state attorneys general will likely emphasise local security challenges and call for constitutional changes to permit state policing. States like Plateau, Benue, and Nasarawa have already done so in recent hearings.

There might be strong opposition from groups like Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association of Nigeria (MACBAN). Some civic organisations and lawyers may also raise concerns around abuses, politicisation and funding.

Questions of oversight may also arise, just like Messrs Gagdi and Egbetoken have highlighted.

Concerns may be raised about how governors will be prevented from using police forces for partisan ends.

There will be questions around whether funding will be guaranteed and how state police will coordinate with federal structures to take centre stage.

The bill for the establishment of state police had been debated in the seventh, eighth and ninth sessions of the National Assembly, but no appreciable progress was made.

If the bill scales through this time around, there are chances Mr Tinubu will not hesitate to sign it into law. That would, however, be after it receives the nod of two-thirds of the 36 Houses of Assembly because it is a constitution amendment bill.