Re: Wither Nigeria: National Or State Police?: My Thoughts

 RIGHT OF REPLY 

By Anthony Osas Okungbowa Esq

The write up on the above subject by Sunday Ehindero published in this Newspaper on Thursday, February 22, 2018 made an interesting reading.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Ehindero, who is a former Inspector-General of Police had strong arguments against the establishment of State Police and he put them forward powerfully and with the efficacy of a dutiful Police Officer that he once was.

The issue of the propriety or necessity of the State Police has been oft-debated. Several arguments have been canvassed for and against with each side struggling to outdo the other. However, Mr. Ehindero introduces into the discourse, a fresh dimension from the stand-point of an informed participant in Police Affairs in this Country at the highest possible level. His arguments are passionately presented and lucidly delivered and, importantly, a sense of patriotism is clearly discernable in the write up. The purpose of this piece is to contribute to the issue, taking the arguments and positions of Mr. Ehindero as the foundation for this contribution.

First, Mr. Ehindero posits that the existence of the State Police means the absence of a National Police Force and that accordingly, Sections 214 and 215 (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), as amended, will have to be amended. In fact, he recommends that the latter subsection has to be deleted from the Constitution.

There is no doubt that Section 214(1) which provides for the establishment of one Police Force for the entire Country and prohibits the existence of other Police Forces in the Country requires amendment to allow the States own and maintain their Police Forces. However, I do not agree that the State Police Forces can only exist to the exclusion of the Federal Police.

  I am of the view that to be effective, a law must be a product of and take cognisance of the sociological peculiarities of the people to whom it applies. The idea of the State Police, in the first place, is a product of this fact. The clamour for it, is, basically, the overall result of a general displeasure about the way and manner the existing single Police Force has been put to use in the past and its failure to respond adequately to the security needs of the people at critical times. Issues come up within a State and the Police is sometimes reluctant to act on the instructions of a State Governor who is said to be the Chief Security Officer of a State, simply because the necessary instruction has not come from “above”. Lives and property have been needlessly endangered and, in many cases, lost to this failure in the past.

Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), as amended,  provides that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of Government; …”. In Section 318(1), “Government” is defined to include “the Government of the Federation or of any State, or of a Local Government Council or any person who exercises power or authority on its behalf”. It is therefore beyond polemics that the duty of providing for the security (and welfare) of the people of Nigeria is a shared responsibility among the Federal Government, State and Local Governments. It should actually be a product of partnership among the tiers of Government. But the current situation where the Federal Government owns and controls the Police Force while the States are practically compelled to provide for their needs is unacceptable.

In essence, it is practicable to have a mutually inclusive Police System where the Federal Police Force exists side by side with the State Police Force. However, while each Force is constitutionally accorded its distinct area of operation, it is also imperative that provisions are made spelling out areas of co-operation or collaboration or joint operations between the two Police Forces. Indeed, there can be nothing wrong with pulling the personnel and other resources of more than one State Police together with that of the Federal Police Force at times of serious security emergencies. To deal with such situations, jurisdictional provisions should be loosely crafted to allow the Police Force of a State engage in joint operations with that of another State and the Federal Police on the invitation of the Police Force of the State in which the emergency occurs or exists.

I agree with the former IGP that with a reworked Police Force concept, it is impossible to retain the provisions of S.215(4) as they are. For clarity, the entire subsection provides: “Subject to the provisions of this section, the Governor of a State or such Commissioner of the Government of the State as he may authorise in that behalf, may give to the Commissioner of Police of that State such lawful direction with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public within the State as he may consider necessary and the Commissioner of Police shall comply with these directions or cause them to be complied with;

Provided that before carrying out any such directions under the foregoing provisions of this subsection the Commissioner of Police may request that the matter be referred to the President or such Minister of the Government of the Federation as may be authorised in that behalf by the President for his directions”.

The intendment behind the subsection, especially the proviso thereto, is inconsistent with and antagonistic to the concept of a reworked Police Force that has as its component, the State Police.

One important factor that must be considered in reworking the Police concept in Nigeria is to bear in mind the fact that not all the states in the Federation have the wherewithal, in terms of resources and manpower, to establish their Police Forces. It should be possible for States that do not have the requisite capacity to continue to have resort solely to the Federal Police in their security arrangement. Provisions for the establishment of State Police Forces should therefore be crafted in such a way as to make it optional (not compulsory) for States to establish their Police Forces.

In doing so, we can take a cue from provisions of Section 280(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), as amended, for the establishment of the Customary Court of Appeal. The Sub-section provides that only States which require such Courts may establish them. So, if there is a State which is not buoyant enough or is not faced with security challenges which the Federal Police cannot handle, such a State should be able to decide not to have its own Police Force. Of course when the dynamics change, the decision of the State can also change.

Mr. Ehindero made the strong point that the creation of State Police can be an invitation to secession and disintegration. He added that “the danger in our democracy does not lie in a central Police Force that is too strong but in a Local Police Force that is too weak”. I am afraid I do not agree. There is as much danger to democracy from an overwhelmingly strong central Police Force as from a weak Police Force. In fact, the danger lies more in the former than in the latter. I do not see how the existence of State Police Forces will lead to secession when the power over armed forces remains in the Federal Government.

  We have never had a Local Police Force in Nigeria. The failed experiment referred to by Mr. Ehindero was never really fully operational. Therefore, at this point in our democratic experience, we cannot pontificate on the consequences of a Local Police Force to our Democracy. On the contrary, we have experienced a strong Central Police Force and are therefore well aware of its ills, inadequacies and failings and I am sure, from this strong vantage point, most Nigerians will agree that our experiences with a strong Central Police Force have not been altogether palatable. This is exactly what has engendered the clamour for change of status quo. It seems to me that the author’s arguments against the State Police actually justify its establishment side by side with the State Police Force so that, the strength of the “strong” Federal Police can complement the “weakness” of the Local Police. However, it cannot be taken for granted that the Local Police will be weak. There are states like Lagos (which today is the 6th largest economy in Africa) that have the capacity to establish a Police Force that can rival, and perhaps even surpass the Federal Police in terms of quality and personnel.

The giveaway point from this write-up is that efforts should be made to ensure that Police Forces are not just set up by State Governments for the fun of it or simply to imitate other States that have the capacity to do so. Perhaps, what can be done is, in addition to providing that only states which actually require a state Police Force should establish it, to set minimum standards for the establishment of State Police Forces in terms of Personnel and resources/equipment. We can find a way to retain in the National Assembly the power to make laws to set minimum standards for the establishment of State Police Forces which can be reviewed from time to time. This is in view of the fact that policing is a serious security concern that should not be toyed with. It is equally a volatile issue that can have serious multidimensional consequences if mishandled. It is for this reason that everything must be done to ensure that the instrument accorded by the creation of the State Police is not employed to negatively impact on the security system which it is intended to serve and boost.

Finally, Mr. Ehindero opines that Police is too expensive to be left in the hands of the States. He  also posits that apart from Lagos, Kano, Ogun and some few States, others are unable to even pay salaries of workers and, if I am allowed to conclude it, not to talk of setting up their Police Forces. Let me sound a bit selfish here. I thought Edo State deserves a prominent mention among States in the Federation that are able to pay salaries. I am a civil servant and I am aware that for the past nine years or so, Government in Edo State has, consistently, without fail, paid salaries of civil servants as and when due. Even when things were so bad in the Country recently, Government never failed in this responsibility. The current Administration of Obaseki has continued to make the issue of payment of salaries  a top priority, hence, salaries are paid not later than 26th of every month. This is, in spite of so much infrastructural development going on around the nooks and crannies of the State. You need to visit Edo State and see the “miracle” going on.

That said, I agree that many States will have difficulty funding their Police Forces. But this fact is not enough to deprive others of the right to do so, if they have the means and their security situations warrant it. Mr. Ehindero concludes that in his opinion, Nigeria is not ripe for State Police. I say No Sir. For me, there is absolutely no problem with the State Police. So long as States are not duty bound to establish them, they have no obligation to deploy resources to do so. In Federalism, every State can develop along its own line and at its own pace according to its leadership and resources. A State is entitled to determine its priorities. If one decides that the State Police is not its concern at the moment, some other may choose otherwise. As long as the Constitution gives this allowance, the hullabaloo about finance/funds with respect to the issue will be a complete non-issue.

This piece is not meant to suggest that there are no downsides with respect to the establishment of State Police Forces. Of course, there are. But our experiences with a single highly centralised Police Force, the prevailing security situation in most parts of the Country, the failure of the Police, overtime, to adequately address security issues and its needless partisanship in matters where it should have displayed neutrality and many more, warrant, and, in fact, justify the establishment by States of their Police Forces, that is, for those that can afford and need them. Let’s not forget the capacity of this initiative to generate jobs for the teeming qualified jobless youths all over Nigeria. For me, creating constitutionally, the capacity and enabling environment for States which desire and have the capacity to set up Police Forces to do so is a national imperative.

––Okungbowa is the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Secretary to the Government of Edo State.