My office is located somewhere in the Alausa axis of Ikeja, Lagos state, so I find myself driving around the state’s seat of power regularly in search of my daily 2k. One day on Nurudeen Olowopopo Way, the traffic lights stopped us. The car in front of me ended up on a zebra crossing. Two men dressed in grey uniform appeared from nowhere and started talking to the driver. Before you could say Jack, one of them had opened the door and jumped into the car. As the traffic lights released us, they led the driver and the car away. I shook my head and muttered: “Another collection of uniformed officers.” I later learnt they were members of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC).
I started thinking: how many uniformed officers does an average Lagos motorist encounter every day? We have the regular police with checkpoints everywhere. We also have unusual police officers in mufti and balaclavas. Sometimes, the way they dress makes you wonder if they are robbers. We come across officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). They, at times, waylay motorists at street corners. We also have officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA). I used to see VIO officers too. Not sure I have seen them recently. We also have military officers on joint patrols at strategic places. All these come at a cost to motorists, especially commercial drivers.
Fasten your seat belt: a fresh collection of uniformed officers is on the way. The states are closer than ever to having their own police forces. We will have the federal police on the one hand and the state police on the other. In May 2024, speakers of the 36 state assemblies announced their support for the proposal. The National Assembly has now approved an amendment to the 1999 Constitution. The deal is almost done. Only 24 of the 36 states are required to endorse it by a simple majority of their assemblies. All that will be needed thereafter is for President Bola Tinubu to sign the dotted line. He has been an advocate of state police for decades. No need to guess if he will give his assent.
Why do we need state police? One recurring argument is that every state should police itself. It is argued that without state police, we are not practising “true federalism” and that we are simply running a unitary system. The US is usually cited as the example of a federation where policing is national and subnational. Another argument is that our police, as currently structured, cannot function efficiently because of centralised bureaucracy. With state police, governors will indeed be the chief security officers of their states and will be in control of policing in their domains, including recruitment, appointment and funding. They will, in theory, have no say in operational matters.
People have also argued that Nigeria is too large, both in landmass and population, to be policed from Abuja. The current state of insecurity — terrorism, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and the like — is blamed by some campaigners on the policing structure. It is said that introducing another level of policing controlled by the states themselves will go a long way in tackling the intractable state of things. In all pro-state police arguments, one unmissable theme is that the Nigeria Police Force, also known as NPF, has failed to secure the nation effectively and efficiently. And the major reason, as it is often argued, is that it is too centralised to cater for our security needs.
These arguments are not entirely new. I wrote on the subnational police issue two years ago, quoting broadly from the book, ‘The Police in Modern Nigeria, 1861-1965: Origins, Development, and Role’, authored by Prof Tekena Tamuno, the former vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan who died in 2015. Hon S. Akinola, representing Ijesha (Western region) in the Federal House of Representatives, proposed ethnicity-based policing during a legislative debate in 1955. He wanted police officers to be deployed along ethnic and linguistic lines across the country. In other words, Igbo officers would police Igbo land, Yoruba would police Yoruba territories, and Hausa would police Hausa domains.
Akinola also proposed that police should be regionalised and placed under a “Regional Authority” rather than being “remotely controlled by the big man in Lagos” — in reference to the inspector-general of police. Lagos was the federal capital at the time. This proposal was under the limited self-rule that Nigeria enjoyed pre-Independence. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, premier of the Western region from 1954-60, was particularly piqued that while the constitution vested him with the responsibility of maintaining law and order in his domain, he was denied the power to manage its policing. He warned that the federal government could become “authoritarian” under that policing structure.
Instructively, the Western and Northern regions had local police which operated only at the local government level and did not bear arms. In 1955, members representing Asaba, Warri and Benin in the Western House of Assembly complained about the partisan activities of local police in areas not under the control of Awolowo’s Action Group. The opposition Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) also opposed regional police at the 1958 constitutional conference based on its experience in the north. The Willink Commission opposed it as well, and its report was adopted by the conference. The military take-over of 1966 effectively ended all forms of local policing and centralised everything.
Where do I stand on state police? Much as I strongly accept that we need to significantly improve internal security, I have always opposed the campaign for state police because I fear possible use and abuse by governors. My principal witness is the state electoral commissions which conduct local government elections. I don’t know of many states where opposition parties win council elections, except there is a special “underground” arrangement. If a state has an APC governor, the headline after council elections is usually: “APC wins all councils”. If it is PDP, it is usually: “PDP clears all LGAs”. State police in the hands of governors may just be a headache for the opposition in their domains.
But someone once countered my argument by saying even governors use the federal police against their political opponents. That is true. Moreover, federal government also uses the police against political opponents, including governors. That is also true. Therefore, whether federal or state, the police are still subject to misuse and abuse. I have no counterargument to that. Nevertheless, I am not convinced that guardrails will prevent abuse. By law, the IGP is not supposed to take operational instructions from the Nigerian president. But is that the case? We have guardrails against human rights abuses, bribery, corruption, conflict of interest and every bad thing. How well do they work?
Still, there is no need to kick against the pricks: state police is an idea whose time has come. There is no stopping it. I believe we have gone past the stage of debating the desirability of state police. The critical political consensus that was stalling it has now been secured. And if state police would help reduce insecurity by just 10 percent, that would be a gain. The real challenge is: how do we make it work for Nigerians? What are we going to do differently in terms of recruitment, welfare, training and operational efficiency? What sort of technology are we going to adopt to achieve the best possible results? How are we going to make sure the guardrails against political abuse do not fail?
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
LOGO IMBROGLIO
A federal high court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi state, has curiously ordered the deregistration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) because of a complaint by the unregistered Peace Movement Party (PMP). The association claimed its V-sign symbol was stolen by the NDC and that INEC should not have registered the party. I do not, for the life of me, think a party should lose its registration because of a logo. That looks reckless in my view. NDC’s argument is that PMP is an unregistered party but the issue here seems to be intellectual property. Instead of allowing this controversy to drag on unnecessarily, the NDC can design a different logo and shame the devil, isn’t it? Sorted.
STARMER STYMIED
British politics can be brutal at times. After two years in office, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been forced to fall on his own sword following a groundswell of rebellion against him in the Labour Party. Mr Andy Burnham, his rival, is waiting in the wings to take over in a matter of weeks. Starmer led the party to a landslide victory in the 2024 general election and the economy is not faring badly, but his stock has been falling with the rise of the anti-immigration Reform Party. The Labour Party was thoroughly whipped in the May council polls. Then Starmer could not come clean on his decision to appoint Mr Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US last year amid damaging allegations. Ruthless.
TUNJI BELLO AT 65
Mr Olatunji Bello, chief executive officer and executive vice chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), will be 65 on Wednesday. I can’t believe it is already five years since we celebrated his 60th birthday with a book of tributes. How time flies! The political scientist, lawyer, environmentalist and — not forgetting — accomplished journalist has always made his mark wherever he has set foot. Meanwhile, he is a longsuffering supporter of Arsenal FC, which means he also deserves my felicitation that his favourite club finally won the English Premier League after what looked like 1,000 years of trying and failing. Double congratulations. Cheers!
NO COMMENT
There is an interesting development in the pipeline. Primate Babatunde Ayodele, who spends most of his time prophesying on politics, recently said Mr Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), would be betrayed by Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, his running mate. Kwankwaso was so furious that he threatened to file a N10 billion defamation suit against Ayodele. But the primate has come up with a fascinating response: “I wish to state clearly that the purpose of my prophecies has never been to defame, malign, or attack anyone’s personality. I only speak based on what I receive from the throne of God.” Will he produce his witness to testify in court? Hahahaha.
