State Police: The Rising Call for Decentralisation of Police Force in Nigeria
The call for the establishment of State Police has been on the rise, following the endorsement given to it by Vice President Prof. Osibajo at a two-day summit organised by the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Review of Current Security Infrastructure in Nigeria. Other prominent persons and groups have also lent their voices to this campaign, including State Governors through the Nigerian Governor’s Forum (NGF), former police chiefs. A vote conducted by NOIPolls, also indicates that many Nigerians are in favour of a State Police.
What is State Police? One would ask then, “What is State Police?” In the Nigerian context, State Police simply is the decentralisation of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to allow each State of the Federation man its own police. The NPF operates a centralised police system, where the national police centrally commands and controls through a vertical chain of command and has unlimited jurisdiction throughout the territory of the country. Section 214 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, ensures that no other police can be established in any part of the Federation, other than the NPF.
Centralised police system is not peculiar to Nigeria alone as virtually all African countries and several other countries such as Chile, El Salvador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Thailand etc. operate a centralised police system.
Most western countries, on the other hand, have a decentralised or semi decentralised police system. Countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain, U.K, U.S, Switzerland, Japan, Pakistan have an organisational structure that allow for State, Provincial, Municipal or Local police.
Arguments in Favour of State Police In this call for State Police, arguments have been weighed both in favour and against the decentralisation of the national police. In favour of the State Police, proponents have stated that a country as populous as Nigeria, cannot be realistically policed centrally from the Federal Capital, given the current size of the police force. Due to the shortage of manpower and inadequacy of police equipment, the NPF can no longer effectively handle the recurring security challenges across the nation.
Another argument made in favour of the State Police, is that it will enhance intelligence gathering needed for preventive actions, rather than the delays we experience currently, which only lead to wastage of lives and property. Also it may be recalled that prior to 1960s, Nigeria had operated a decentralised police force; therefore, this is not a new terrain for the country. If the regional police had effectively worked in the first Republic, there’s no doubt that it will work at the State level today.
Opposition to State Police On the other hand, in opposition to State police, it has been argued that if adopted, given the peculiar nature of our country’s politics, it may be subjected to abuse by State Governors who may use it to torment their oppositions.
Secondly, so many States in the Federation, cannot realistically fund or manage a State police. In a country where we are still battling with the millions of debts owed by the States, States are incapable of paying salaries, we cannot increase the burden on States’ resources, by giving them the responsibility of policing, which is very paramount to citizen’s wellbeing.
Another argument against State police, is that our heterogeneous nature in the lines of multiple ethnicities, is not suitable for State policing, as it could be used to dangerously settle ethnic scores, and this is not good for the unity of the country.
In response to these arguments, the canvassers of the decentralised police system, have noted that in order to guide against abuses, efficient mechanism for checks and balances, will be put in place. Functional laws in the State, will prevent any abuse of State police. Secondly as regards funding, not all States should have a State police at the onset of the reforms, those that can afford it should, as the arguments against it is not sufficient to disregard the benefits of decentralisation.
In considering these arguments, the first thing that comes to mind is “if the nation had successfully operated a decentralised police system during the first republic, why then move to a centralised system?” The simple answer is, convenience. It was nationalised in the 1960s, for easier administration and not for ineffectiveness.
Having said that, globally, the primary duty of every Police is maintenance of law and order, crime prevention and detection, and every police official must uphold the security of the nation, by combating crime and to ensure that others are in compliance of rules, regulations and governmental laws.
Regardless of the arguments for and against State police, one thing is prominent, which is fact that the Nigerian police, currently, is ineffective in achieving these duties.
Problems of Nigerian police can be listed to include corruption, inefficiency, ineffectiveness, unresponsiveness, lack of citizen engagement, lack of resources, and lack of innovation. This is not peculiar to Nigeria, as it is common in most developing countries. Several countries’ police at various times, have had to undergo reforms, with the object of rendering them more efficient and effective in the delivery of their services to the people who look upon them to do so.
Centralised Policing v Decentralised Policing
Both the centralised and decentralised police systems, have their strengths and weaknesses. For instance, while centralised policing promotes uniformity of services and service delivery, decentralised policing promotes innovation and provides adaptive and flexible services and delivery, to meet local needs. Centralised policing reduces administrative duplication, whereas decentralised policing allows local citizens to have control over the police. Also while centralised policing reduces local political interference and corruption, decentralised policing reduces political interference and corruption from the Federal level.
However, in all of this, what should be of major concern to us in Nigeria, are reforms that will increase the efficiency and output delivery of the police. In most effective reforms, the target is institutional changes. A move from a centralised police system to a decentralised one, is an institutional change that usually leads to a change in behaviour and performance of the police, and more closely reflects citizens’ request for police. Decentralisation no doubt, moves the government closer to the citizens, and enhances relations between them and this makes for a higher level of citizen trust in the police.
Economically, decentralisation is posited to reduce costs and improve outputs of public service delivery. Countries with decentralised police systems have been shown to employ fewer police officers. In the 1970s and 1980s for instance, amidst the decline of central economic planning and management, Governments of both more and less developed countries, began to decentralise hierarchical bureaucracies in order to achieve more efficient and inclusive public service delivery. China, for instance, gradually transferred a substantial degree of authority and responsibility, to subnational governments. International organisations, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have also played important roles in promoting and assisting decentralisation reforms, particularly, in developing countries
In a centralised system, the police are usually not evenly distributed, and the distribution is hardly tailored to adapt to the needs of each locality. This cost of maintaining a large security outfit which does not reach the needs of the citizens, is drastically reduced in a decentralised system, as each State knows its needs better and the police will be structured to adapt to these needs.
In Nigeria, there are so many security outfits including Police, Armed forces, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Peace corps, vigilante groups and several others, yet we are plagued with unceasing security misery. In fact, regardless that many African countries have national police forces; policing functions are known to be commonly performed by the private sector, and sometimes even by the populace itself, as the safety of the people has not been guaranteed by these National Police.
The creation of JTFs (Joint Task Forces) with local vigilantes in communities ravaged by insurgents, is a clear illustration of the need for local intelligence which can be improved with the State police system. Decentralised policing promotes innovation, and provides adaptive and flexible services and delivery to meet local needs.
Geographically, other than Indonesia, most countries with larger population than Nigeria, operate a decentralised or semi decentralised police system, countries like China, India, United States, Brazil and Pakistan.
Politically also, decentralisation is argued to enhance accountability and responsiveness, increase political education, leadership and citizen engagement, while also promoting liberty and equality, and strengthens national integration
Based on the concepts discussed above, Decentralisation is a very important policy decision for every country, and the call for a State police in Nigeria, should not be disregarded but looked into after a thorough study is carried out, using Nigerian indices and peculiarities to carry out effective reforms in our policing.
Kingsley Amakwu, Lawyer, Senior Special Assistant to the Senate President on Policy and Strategy
“DECENTRALISATION NO DOUBT, MOVES THE GOVERNMENT CLOSER TO THE CITIZENS, AND ENHANCES RELATIONS BETWEEN THEM, AND THIS MAKES FOR A HIGHER LEVEL OF CITIZEN TRUST IN THE POLICE”