By Dr. Samson Abanni
The President’s recent directive to the National Assembly, urging the legislative machinery to begin crafting laws for the establishment of State Police, marks a Rubicon crossed. It is a sombre admission that the federal security apparatus—an edifice straining under its own weight—can no longer guarantee the safety of the interior. By asking the legislature to act, the government has officially opened the case file on a decentralized force. While this move offers a potent solution to our deteriorating security conditions, it introduces a new, complex risk: the balkanization of safety based on geography.
I foresee the introduction of State Police exacerbating the “Developmental Disparity” that already fractures the Nigerian federation. Security, after all, is the bedrock of development. Much like the National Bureau of Statistics reveals stark, morbid variances in healthcare outcomes between a wealthy littoral state and an agrarian hinterland state, so too shall it be with security.
Without careful calibration, we risk a future where some states operate modern, tech-driven, FBI-style directorates, while others—hamstrung by poverty or lack of political will—rely on archaic, brute-force methods. We face the prospect of “differential security,” where one’s safety is dictated not by one’s citizenship, but by their standard of living and location.
The Fallacy of Fear
However, the fear of disparity or abuse must not paralyze us. It is a form of intellectual laziness to argue that because State Police can be abused by governors, it should not be established. Every instrument of state power carries the potential for tyranny; the answer is not to discard the instrument, but to refine the safeguards.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) must shed their reticence and seize this moment. Rather than standing on the sidelines as critics, they must work directly with lawmakers to shape the clay while it is wet. They must influence the law to make it human-rights-centric.
The “Control Knobs” and “Speed Bumps”
To achieve this, the National Assembly (NASS) has a herculean task. They must “bake into” the legislation robust “speed bumps” to check the abuse of force. We cannot allow the creation of local fiefdoms used to foment genocide or marginalize minorities based on tribe, religion, or wealth.
The operational independence of these forces relies on legal “control knobs” that are completely separate from the direct or indirect manipulation of the Federal Police.
The most critical of these is finance. The allocation for State Police must never be subjected to the whim and caprice of a sitting governor. In a country where civil servants’ salaries are frequently in arrears, an underfunded police force is simply a state-sanctioned armed robbery gang. The law must mandate that police funding comes directly from the state’s allocation at the National level—a “First Line Charge.” If a state fails to meet the budgetary threshold, the federal government must retain the legal right to intervene.
A New Genetic Code: Beyond the Colonial Legacy
We must also address our current toxic policing culture. The Federal Police was originally designed by colonial masters as an instrument of occupation and suppression. We have decades of bitter experience to draw from; we know exactly what we do not want.
This is our opportunity to do things right. The founding principles of the State Police must be radically different—purposefully set up to engender trust and work with the community, not against it. To achieve this, the very architecture of the force must take input from religious leaders, traditional rulers, and diverse interest groups.
Jurisdiction and “Hot Pursuit”
There is also the matter of friction. Crime respects no state line. If a kidnapping syndicate moves a victim across state lines, the law must be clear. We need a “Protocol of Cooperation” baked into the act, defining the rules of “Hot Pursuit.” Without this, we risk the absurdity of State Police units arresting one another at boundary lines while criminals escape in the confusion.
The Accountability Mechanism
Finally, there must be a robust remediation pathway for human rights abuses. This may require the establishment of special courts, ensuring that the State Police can be sued in any jurisdiction in Nigeria.
We have to take the risk of governors attempting to abuse this power, for the status quo is no longer tenable. But in doing so, we must ensure the law is watertight. The State Police must be a shield for the people, not a sword for the powerful.
Samson Abanni is a Medical Doctor and Member of the Board of Editors of Pacesetter Frontier Magazine.