Assembly Speakers Back Creation Of State Police

Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly, under the aegis of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria (CSSLN), have given their support to the establishment of state police.

They declared that the establishment of a subnational policing system had become long overdue in light of the worsening security situation across the country, stressing that it would be unwise to kill the idea out of fear of its abuse.

The clamour for state police got a boost last week after the newly sworn-in Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, threw his weight behind it and set up a committee to realise it.

Disu, who spoke to State House Correspondents shortly after he was sworn in as the 23rd Inspector-General of Police by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja, said the state police system had “come to stay.”

Before then, Tinubu had called on the National Assembly to give the clamour legal backing.

Mixed reactions trailed Disu’s declaration. While the apex Northern regional body, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), opposed the move, the apex South West group, Afenifere, and its South South counterpart, Pan Niger Delta Forum, threw their weight behind the demand for subnational policing.

Although the creation of state police has been a long-debated issue, it requires a constitutional amendment to achieve, which involves the 36 states of the federation.

Speakers react

Chairman of CSSLIN, Rt Hon. Emomotimi Dennis Guwor, told LEADERSHIP yesterday that the issue was overdue owing to the growing security challenges Nigeria is presently facing, especially when it has long been a popular wish of Nigerians.

According to the chairman, Tinubu has already challenged stakeholders “to start thinking about how best to amend the constitution to incorporate the state police for us to secure our country, take over our forests from marauders and free our children from fear.”

He said the Conference of Speakers in Nigeria was fully backing the issue without any reservations.

“A large number of citizens and groups have in the last two decades been making the same call; it becomes quite clear that the establishment of a policing system at the state level is the way forward,” he said.

Guwor, who is also the Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, gave assurance that CSSLIN will not hesitate on the matter since President Tinubu has openly re-echoed the call.

He recalled that the Senate had already assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would treat the amendment with urgency and conclude the process before political campaigns begin ahead of the next general election.

He urged stakeholders to cultivate the idea alongside structures, strategies, and other frameworks to prevent envisaged abuse, as well as design sanctions to instantly curb any abuse.

In this regard, he recounted what Senate spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, said, “We are going to expeditiously treat the matter; we are giving our assurance that before the end of this year, the amendment will be done so that we can have state police.”

Guwor said the point to be made is that state police as a policy is not a problem on its own because it can be used positively to attain the public good.

“The real problem in Nigeria is a lack of accountability, where people are not held to account for their misdeeds. In a system where there are no consequences for actions or omissions, the idea of abuse would be the order of the day. Put differently, police can be abused at any level — be it local, state or federal — if those managing the system are allowed to operate above the law.”

The chairman, who contended that it would, therefore, be unwise to kill the idea of state police because it could be abused, said such abuses should not stop the nation from utilising the state police platform to achieve positive and desired goals.

Corroborating the above assertion, Lagos State Police Commissioner Olohundare Jimoh said, “If properly designed and implemented, state policing could provide significant benefits by deepening local knowledge of security dynamics and enabling quicker responses to crimes.”

Guwor advised Nigerians to stop highlighting the possible weak points of the state police system as if the system has no known remedy, despite its capacity to increase community participation in governance.

“The introduction of state police would increase employment opportunities, intelligence gathering, and strengthen relationships between the police and the people,” Guwor posited.