Revisiting Ekweremadu’s Roadmap to State Police 

Uche Anichukwu
 

Expectedly, the positive dispositions of the President Bola Tinubu Administration to the creation of state police has opened a floodgate of conversations around the subject, the most recent and notable one being the national dialogue on state police organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja. It is also good that this green light is coming from the president himself.

Serving as a media aide to former Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, afforded one the rare privilege of following closely the constitution amendment process and the underpinning politics over several Assemblies. One can authoritatively say that previous quests for state police failed because successive presidents always believed it was in their best interest to have everything security and legitimate instruments of coercion in their firm control. Some Nigerians have also argued that state police could metamorphose into regional armies.  There is equally this endemic fear that state governors would abuse it. But essentially the opposition stemmed from the failure by many to foresee the level of insecurity that has happened to Nigeria today. Otherwise, the conversation could have been about how to use the law to address these fears rather – not to block state police entirely.

I recall a conversation between Ekweremadu and a Senator from the North West, who dismissed Ekweremadu’s warning that the then budding banditry in that region, could ultimately get to as far as Kaduna, Niger State, the FCT and indeed envelope the entire country unless state police was allowed to strengthen the states against insecurity. That Senator almost laughed his head off, saying that the Sokoto River, Rima River, etc. were sufficient buffers against such expansion.

When many years later innocent Nigerians were massacred in Barkin Ladi, Plateau State, in 2018, Ekweremadu lamented that the sad news was not just that many people were killed in cold blood, but also that more people could die because “there is no way you will have a big federation like Nigeria with all the diversities, and continue to operate a centralised policing.”

Today, the jury is out. Banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, and other forms of violent criminality have traversed the entire country, including the ‘almighty’ FCT and the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna State.

However, it is heartwarming that consensus appears imminent, as even former arch-opponents of state police have become its strong advocates. For instance, it was interesting watching Senator Ita Enang, on Channels TV’s “Politics Today” recently. He confessed: “Senator Ike Ekweremadu was very vehement that we should have state police. He sponsored and brought a bill. I was one of those who vehemently opposed him and campaigned against it. I went out of my way to say that the way the governors exercise power over the electoral process, if you give them the control over security, they would kill everybody. But now, it is no more the question of the governors. We now should not care so much about what a governor does with it so long as he does one thing with it – use it to manage internal security of the state. State police is an idea which time has come.”

Even more interesting and quite significant are the support for state police coming from former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Retd.) at the aforementioned House of Representatives dialogue.

But the greatest fillip comes from the president. And it is on the strength of this and the various call one received from media practitioners as well as serving and former lawmakers, requesting for more insights into the Ekweremadu bill that one found it imperative to revisit that roadmap.

But before proceeding, it is apposite to say that one has also seen the bills on state police before the current National Assembly and they benefitted quite maximally from the Ekweremadu bill. I have no doubt that the sponsors will accord him the due credit.

The special thing about the Ekweremadu bill lies in the way it consciously and meticulously addresses, among others, the critical issues of structure, standardisation, control, armament, disciplining, co-existence with federal police, and, importantly, the fears of abuse by state governors, benefiting  from best practices around the world, especially federal climes like the US, Canada, and Brazil.

Ekweremadu’s state police bill proposes the establishment of the Federal Police, State Police, National Police Service Commission, National Police Council, and State Police Service Commissions. The Federal Police shall be responsible for the maintenance of public security, preservation of public order and security of persons and property throughout the federation to the extent provided for under the constitution or by an Act of the National Assembly, while the State Police, shall be organised and administered in accordance with such provisions as may be prescribed by a Law of the House of Assembly of a State subject to the framework and guidelines established by an Act of the National Assembly.

Under this law, a Commissioner of State Police shall be appointed by the governor of the state on the advice of the National Police Service Commission, subject to confirmation of such appointment by the House of Assembly of the State. The Commissioner shall be in office for a period of five years only or until he/she attains a retirement age prescribed by law, whichever is earlier. So, the governor is not the sole appointer.

Again, the governor may give lawful directives to the CP with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order as he may consider necessary, but the commissioner of police shall only comply to the extent that those directives or order are neither unlawful nor contrary to general policing standards or practice. If he finds them so, he may request that the matter be referred to the State Police Service Commission for review and the decision of the state Commission shall be final and shall not be inquired into by any court.

The bill equally provides enough autonomy for Commissioners of State Police. For instance, a commissioner shall only be removed by the governor upon the recommendation of the National Police Service Commission on the grounds of  misconduct in the performance of his official duties; serious breach of policing standards; conviction of any offence by a court of law or tribunal (including administrative tribunals set up by the police authorities for internal disciplining of police officers); indictment by a judicial body or tribunal for corruption, fraud, embezzlement or other unacceptable conducts in office; bankruptcy; mental incapacity; and participation in political activities of any kind either within or outside the state and including sponsoring or giving aid to any political group of movement.  But importantly, such removal shall be subject to approval by two-thirds majority of the State Assembly.

Furthermore, an Act of the National Assembly may prescribe a periodic review of the activities of each State Police Service by the National Police Service Commission after which it may be recertified so long as its operations adhere to set standards and regulations and do not undermine national integrity, promote ethnic, tribal or sectional agenda or marginalise any segment of the society.

Another interesting aspect is the composition of each State Police Service Commission, as membership is drawn from a wide spectrum of critical stakeholders such that it will be difficult for anyone to pocket the Commission. Chairman is to be appointed by the governor subject to the confirmation of the State House of Assembly; a representative of the Federal Government to be appointed by the National Police Service Commission, two members, who must be indigenes of the respective state and to be appointed by the National Human Rights Commission; a representative of the Public Complaints Commission; a representative of the Labour to be appointed by the Chairman of the state branch; three retired police officers from three senatorial districts to be appointed by the governor subject to confirmation of the State House of Assembly; a lawyer-representative of the Nigerian Bar Association and a representative of the Nigerian Union of Journalists to be appointed by their respective branch chairmen.

The mandates of the Commission include recommending the appointment of a Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police and Assistant Commissioner of Police to the National Police Service Commission; appointment, disciplining and removal of members of the state police below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police; and other functions and powers of the commission as may be specified either in the Constitution or a Law of the House of Assembly of a State. It is noteworthy that in recommending the appointment of a Commissioner of State Police, the Commission shall propose three qualified candidates to the National Police Service Commission.

The National Police Service Commission, on the other hand, shall comprise a Chairman to be appointed by the President subject to the confirmation of the Senate; two members representing the National Human Rights Commission; one representative of the Labour; six rretired police officers not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police representing each of the Geo-Political zones of the country  to be appointed by the President subject to confirmation of the Senate; a representative of the NBA to be appointed by the NBA President; a representative of the NUJ to be appointed by the NUJ President; and the Attorney-General of each state.

The National Police Service Commission shall be responsible for the appointment of persons to offices (other than office of the Inspector-General of Police) in the Federal   Police; exercising disciplinary control over members of the Federal Police; recommending to the Governor of a State the appointment of the Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioners of Police and Assistant Commissioners of Police of the State Police based on a list submitted to it by the State Police Service Commission of the relevant state and subject to confirmation by the House of Assembly of the State; recommending to the Governor, the discipline and removal of the Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioners of Police and Assistant Commissioners of Police of the State Police; supervising the activities of the Federal Police and State Police to the extent provided for in this constitution or by an Act of the National Assembly; and prescribing standards for all police forces in the country in training, criminal intelligence databases, forensic laboratories and render assistance to State Police in areas as may be requested by such State Police.

Lastly, on the issue of funding, Ekweremadu once explained that since state police will not be compulsory, those who cannot afford it immediately will continue to rely on federal police until such a time that they are able to afford it – just as the state universities.

The ball is now in the President’s and National and State Assemblies’ court. And Nigerians expect them to act with every sense of urgency.

Anichukwu, a public analyst writes from Enugu