DECENTRALISED POLICE IS THE WAY OUT OF INSECURITY IN NIGERIA – SEN. OPEYEMI BAMIDELE

Amid the increasing demand for an effi­cient and responsive police system, the Leader of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Opeyemi Michael Bamidele has stressed the importance of having a decentralised police in Nigeria. He pointed out that is the way out of the multifarious security challenges in Nigeria. TheMediaGood Newspaper can report that the Majority Leader of the Senate made these remarks at the 2024 Distinguished Personality Lecture Series jointly organised by the Department of Political Science and Institute of Legisla­tive Studies, University of Ilorin, Kwara State on Monday.

Bamidele, also Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, lamented that as currently constituted, the police force was not established to succeed in the country due to the dys­functionality of the Nigeria Police. He observed that any police structure that did not reflect Nigeria’s federal realities would not effectively address the roots of security challenges facing the federation.

The lecture, titled ‘Constitu­tional Amendment and the Po­litical Dynamics of State Police in Nigeria,’ was chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin. Jubrin was represented by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Oyelola Ashiru. At the lecture were the Senate Chairman on Agriculture, Sena­tor Saliu Mustapha; Chairman, Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, Senator Sadiq Umar; Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Akintunde Yunus; Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Egbewole (SAN) and Director General, National Institute for Legislative and Dem­ocratic Studies, Prof. Abubakar Suleiman. Also, Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Danladi Salihu; Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye and law­makers from the two assemblies and National Assembly were in attendance.

Speaking at the session, Bam­idele dissected diverse socio-eco­nomic and political forces respon­sible for the dysfunctionality of the Nigeria police and reeled out antidotes to the problems of polic­ing in Nigeria. While warning against the in­cessant deployment of the armed forces without compliance with the provisions of the 1999 constitu­tion, Bamidele faulted the undue establishment and operations of vigilante groups and security outfits at the state levels without national legal framework.

Bamidele explained that the incessant deployment of the armed forces for the purpose of maintaining law and order inter­nally was at variance with their mandate under the 1999 constitu­tion and did not portray Nigeria as a truly democratic and internally stable democracy.

The Senate leader observed that the challenges facing the Nigeria police “are numerous. How the police are organised, managed, governed and funded can determine its ability to deliver on its constitutional mandate of protecting the life and property of Nigerians.

“Understanding these dynam­ics can help in appreciating what needs to be done to improve secu­rity in the country. It is clear that Nigerians do not fully appreciate the depth and scale of the chal­lenges facing the police.

“I maintain that the police have not been set up properly to succeed in this nation. Effective policing in Nigeria is almost impossible unless there are fun­damental changes. Indeed, the constraints faced by the police are used as excuses for various misconducts and unprofessional behaviours by many officers of the force.

“Despite many attempts by the leadership of the Nigeria police to enforce discipline and even sack bad eggs, operational misconduct is still prevalent in the ranks of police operatives, and this under­mines their capacity to decisively respond to pervasive insecurity nationwide.”

He further argued that the reg­ular deployment of the Nigeria Armed Forces across the federa­tion was, no doubt, an indication that the present police structure could no longer address the pres­ent security challenges of our nation.

To correct these anomalies, the Senate leader canvassed the adoption of decentralised police model to address a myriad of security challenges currently un­dermining the country’s internal cohesion and disincentivizing investors from coming into the federation.

According to him, it is self-ev­ident that the establishment of state police will go a long way in mitigating Nigeria’s current secu­rity challenges, especially if the proper control mechanisms are put in place.

The Senate leader, therefore, reeled out different measures to prevent the political elite from us­ing the state instrument against dissenting voices if the state police is eventually adopted.

Bamidele first suggested that an Independent Police Service Commission should be estab­lished to guarantee the autonomy, independence and non-partisan­ship of the state police at federal and state levels in matters of ap­pointment, discipline, promotions and accountability.

Such an independent police commission, he suggested, should be patterned after the National Ju­dicial Council and utterly be insu­lated from the undue interference of the political elite whether at state or federal level.

He observed that the adoption of a decentralised police model “is not without its political complexi­ties. One of the primary concerns is the potential for abuse of pow­er by the political elite. Its critics fear that the political elite may use state police to suppress opposition political parties, critical social ac­tors or perceived enemies.”

However, according to him, this fear is not unfounded given Nigeria’s history of the abuse of police powers under the Nigeria police.

Bamidele expressed grave concern about the proliferation of vigilantes and security outfits in nearly all states of the federation without providing a legal frame­work for their operations.

He noted that the increase in the number of vigilance groups and security outfits, among states, might degenerate into complex crisis if we fail to provide a com­prehensive legal framework for their operations consistent with the provisions of the 1999 consti­tution.

He observed that the vigilance groups or security outfits are in­directly exercising the powers of state police outside the purview of the 1999 constitution. But most governments have justified their resolve to create vigilante groups on Section 4(7).

“This provision expressly empowers the State House of As­sembly to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the state or any part thereof. But Sec­tion 214 of the 1999 constitution explicitly grants the federal power absolute policing powers.

“It is therefore improper for the state governments to exercise policing powers without clearly constitutional provisions or na­tionally defined legal framework in order to avoid undue descent into anarchy.”

He advocated that there should be robust mechanisms for oversight, accountability and transparency to ensure that state police forces operate within the bounds of the law and respect citizens’ rights.

“Federal oversight, indepen­dent review boards, and clear legislative frameworks are essen­tial to prevent misuse of power. Another critical aspect to consid­er is the economic feasibility of state policing. Establishing and maintaining state police requires significant financial investment.

“States must be prepared to allocate adequate resources for training, equipping, and remu­nerating their police personnel. On its part, the Federal Govern­ment can support this transition through grants and technical as­sistance, ensuring that no state is left behind due to financial constraints.

“The path to constitutional amendment and the establish­ment of state policing in Nigeria must be carefully navigated. It requires broad consensus and collaboration among federal, state, and local governments.

“Stakeholders – civil society organisations, traditional leaders, and the general populace – must be actively involved in the discourse to ensure that the transition is transparent, inclusive and devoid of rancours.

“Public education and aware­ness campaigns are also vital to garnering support for this sig­nificant change. The benefits of state policing-enhanced security, improved community relations, and more effective crime preven­tion-must be clearly communicat­ed to the Nigerian people.”