Adoption of State Police Fraught with Landmines, Says Ex-Osun Speaker
Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
As agitations for constitutional adoption of state policing continues in the country, constitutional lawyer and former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Professor Mojeed Alabi, yesterday, said the road to full adoption of state police is fraught with landmines that need to be successfully scaled before the government can arrive at the promised land.
Alabi however added: “Unless these landmines are addressed, policemen operating under different control may be nothing more than armed groups for contestations arising from political, religious, ethnic or other differences.”
Prof. Alabi who is now Provost, College of Law at Osun State University (UNIOSUN) expressed this position in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Thursday during the national conference on “Restructuring the Police Architecture in Nigeria: Is State Police the Only Option?”
The conference was organised by the Institute of Legislative Studies of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).
He said: “Apart from the much-anticipated amendment of the constitution, there is need for robust legal frameworks to guide the ensuing regime.
“The legal frameworks should also state clearly the scope of the respective powers of the national and the state assemblies in making laws on policing as well as the funding sources for maintaining the polices as part of the critical structures for governance.
“The legal framework will need to harmonise the policing infrastructure in a manner that promotes collaboration at all levels rather than mutual acrimony and antagonism as has become commonplace in inter-agency rivalry among the security forces even under the centralised policing arrangements currently in existence.
“Also, the National Assembly must be able to put in place an Act that will properly delineate the scope of the respective jurisdictions of the federal and the state polices in order to avoid conflict of interests in the use and deployment of police forces.
While recommending the establishment of a police commission at the level of the federation, Prof. Alabi stated: “The commission will be responsible for training and certification of policemen and creation of a pool from which any units of government can recruit men and officers as may be needed.”
Alabi, a former member of the House of Representatives between 2015- 2019 added: “The issue of training, discipline and control of policemen must also be taken seriously.
“Such a commission should also be able to discipline and discharge any erring police officers. Such a body will function like the National Judicial Council (NJC) with additional jurisdiction of providing professional training and certification that will ensure that anyone recruited into the police forces at any level has sufficient understanding, backed by codes of conduct, of the nature of responsibility to be discharged
“More importantly, the envisaged regime of policing in Nigeria must consider the human dimension of the implementation”.
He maintained that, “We cannot doubt the fact that the palpable fears about state-controlled policing relate to inherent abuses that may attendant to its practical implementation.
“Concerns have been raised about the tendency for use of the police forces as tools for partisan considerations, which may do more harm than good to public safety.
“In this regard, appropriate mechanisms and guidelines must be put in place to prevent abuse of power, including but not limited to creation of special administrative panels to monitor the conduct of police officers.
“Also, the jurisdiction of the Public Complaints Commission could be expanded to accommodate such issues while the PCC itself is adequately funded to discharge this and other constitutional responsibilities.
“Finally, the issue of state police in Nigeria is an idea which time has come, judging by the popular acclamation that attends the current initiatives of the president with the support of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the National Assembly.
“But the challenges attendant to its implementation have to be weighed against maintaining the centralised policing system currently in use with the attendant implication for public order, national security and survival of Nigeria as a federation.
“The experiment must be backed by law and by additional reform measures to rid the police, at whatever level, of the many ills of the Nigeria Police Force.
“While the adoption of state police may not be an Eldorado and is bound to bring about new challenges that must be confronted squarely, maintaining the status quo ante may not be a reasonable policy choice given the current multiple security challenges and the fragility of the Nigeria state.
“As a nation, we are struggling with security concerns that require innovative thinking and collaborative solutions.
“The debate surrounding state police continues to gain prominence, with proponents highlighting its potential for localized and effective policing, while critics raise concerns about abuse of power and resource allocation.
“Yet, this conversation must not be limited to state policing alone. There are broader systemic reforms and alternative models that warrant our attention, and this conference serves as a platform to rigorously examine these options.”
