Living in denial seems to have become an official policy of the Nigerian state. No issue underscores this more than the Federal Government’s failure to see the need for state police. But national existential realities evident in the activities of Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers and armed robbers have once more brought this to the front burner.
Since Nigeria’s regional political structure collapsed in the First Republic in 1966, the centre has seized the responsibility of policing the entire country, drawing its authority from Section 214 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which established the Nigeria Police Force. According to this part, “…subject to the provisions of this, no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof.” But the Federal Government has certainly made a mess of the job.
We are vigorously opposed to this sloppy internal security design. The country’s federal structure and present security challenges have rendered this constitutional dictate irrelevant. Evidence: in one fell swoop in February, Fulani herdsmen killed over 400 persons and burnt scores of houses in Agatu, Benue State, over grazing rights. Thus, the hapless villagers became internally displaced persons in their own land. Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State was just as helpless as the victims.
Finding himself on the horns of a dilemma, Ortom raced to Abuja to brief the Presidency. He demanded improved security to contain the contagion. “I think that the situation in Benue, especially in Agatu, is getting out of control,” a bewildered Ortom told journalists in the State House. Yet, as governor, he is the chief security officer of his state without any security apparatus under his control.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State experienced such a handicap too, on April 25, when the same Fulani herdsmen descended on Nimbo community in Uzo Uwani Local Government Area, killed over 40 people and razed a church to the ground, in an early morning raid. Ugwuanyi wept when he visited scenes of the attack. Angered by the gross incompetence of all the security agencies – police, army and State Security Service – he has set up a Neighbourhood Watch or vigilance group to protect his people.
Two months after the mayhem, the police have yet to explain how a planned massacre they received intelligence report on, illustrated in the emergency state security council meeting the governor presided over, still occurred. Ugwuanyi’s demonstration of loss of faith in the federal police is being copied by his peers. The latest is Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, who has mobilised hunters in his domain for self-help.
Quite vividly, the general security lapses can also be seen from the current 305,000 numerical strength of the police. The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, in April, while delivering a public lecture, said the number was inadequate. He said, “The expectations of members of the public in Nigeria are many and varied, and exceed the resources and support given to the police.” It bears repeating that there are about 170 million people in the country.
With the upsurge in criminality and terrorism, more than 100,000 policemen are almost permanently attached to public officials, the rich in the society, financial institutions, and other corporate bodies that can afford to pay for such service. The remaining 200,000 officers are not enough for general security duties. The recent directive by President Muhammadu Buhari that 10,000 cadets be recruited into the Force only scratches the surface.
On a regular basis, many police personnel die on active service but are not replaced. According to the IG, a total of 278 police officers were killed between January 2014 and December 2015. The casualty rate has been increasing since 2009 when Boko Haram terrorism began. The lack of capacity of the police to deal with our security challenges explains why the military have technically taken over their duties. They are virtually in every state of the federation, at roadblocks to checkmate kidnappers and armed robbers; in addition to their professional duties.
It was not, therefore, for nothing that the 2014 National Conference in Abuja, strongly recommended the setting up of state police. President Muhammadu Buhari should ensure its implementation as one sure way of having a handle on our increasing internal security problems.
Clearly, states have demonstrated through their regular procurement of equipment for police commands in their domains that they are ready and capable of taking up the challenge involved in decentralised policing in the country. For instance, within one year, the Lagos State Government has spent N6.3 billion from its Security Trust Fund in providing Hilux vans, power bikes fitted with communication gadgets, bulletproof vests and other equipment to security agencies in the state. Last week, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode donated a fresh batch of 140 new pick-up vans to them, a ritual he also performed last year. Other states have made similar gestures. What sense does it make for states to fund the police they cannot control?
Beyond security, state police will create jobs, especially in mopping up unemployed graduates from the streets. If each state were to engage 15,000 persons for its policing, it means that the 36 states will give jobs to 540,000 youths.
Fears expressed in some quarters that state police will lead to the break-up of Nigeria or be abused by the governors are pure hogwash. In the United States, each state has its own police, whose work complements that of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A similar structure exists in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, where counties, provinces and regions operate their own police agencies.
Nigeria is a federal republic; therefore, it should not continue to be administered as a military empire, where unitary or centrist tendencies govern national affairs. Consequently, we should see state police as a necessity that cannot be avoided anymore. This is the kind of real change we expect from the Buhari administration.
