NILDS Roundtable Dialogue Divides Experts over State Police Establishment

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Experts yesterday, expressed divergent views over the desirability of establishing a state police system in Nigeria. 

The experts expressed their positions at a “Roundtable National Dialogue on the Clamour for State Police System in Nigeria,” organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), in Abuja.

The session was attended by political scientists, economists, sociologists, psychologists, lawyers, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and other professionals.

Professor Ernest Ojukwu, SAN, and Professor Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN, served as moderators respectively during the two sessions, while Professor Josephine Agbonika, SAN, and Professor Etennibi Alemika were the keynote speakers.

The panelists included Professor Tijjani Mohammad-Bande, Professor Nuhu Yaqub, Professor Zubairu Dagona, Dr. Asimiyu Abiola, Professor Shola Omotola and Dr. Doris Aaron.

Professor Edoba Omoregie, SAN, and Dr. Adewale Aderemi, facilitated the session.

Some of the Civil Society Organisations at the session included the Network on Police Reforms in Nigeria and CLEEN Foundation.

Some of the panelists supported the establishment of state police while others kicked against it.

The Director General of NILDS, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, in his opening remarks, noted that the clamour for a state police system has become a subject matter of immense significance in the nation’s security landscape.

Abubakar said: “This dialogue is not only timely but crucial for the future of our nation’s police system.

“As we convene today, we are at a pivotal juncture in our nation’s history where the need to re-examine and reform the structure of our police system has become overdue.

“To put it plainly, the challenges we face in maintaining law and order across the country necessitates a re-evaluation of our current centralized policing structure to determine whether or not it is fit for purpose.

“Historically, Nigeria has relied heavily on a centralized policing structure. However, the dynamics of our diverse states, each with unique socio-cultural and security challenges, seem to demand a more tailored and responsive approach to law enforcement.

“It has been argued that the establishment of state police may empower local authorities to address these challenges more effectively, ensuring quicker response and better understanding of local security dynamics.

“However, the path to operationalizing a state police system is fraught with complexities that demand careful consideration.

“We must ensure that reforms in the direction of decentralizing the current centralised police system, if that is the preferred course, are underpinned by a robust legal framework, adequate resources, and stringent oversight mechanisms to prevent abuse of police power and to uphold the rule of law.

“This dialogue is expected to evaluate these issues with a view to suggesting the appropriate way forward.

“On the part of the Institute, and as the think-tank organ of the legislature and other democratic institutions across the country, we shall internalise the outcome of the dialogue in providing robust input into the effort to reform the police system, in order to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in law enforcement.”

The first session, moderated by Professor Ojukwu, Professor Bande and Dr. Aaron supported a reformed centralized police system, while Professor Omotola supported the establishment of state police.

There was however drama when Professor Ojukwu put the question to vote among those who attended the National Dialogue when 16 participants voted in favour of state police and 14 voted against through the raising of hands inside the hall.

During the second session, Professor Alemika in his key note address, said what is needed in Nigeria is not state or federal police but good governance which includes the rule of law, quality free education, good healthcare, among others.

On his part, Dr Abiola supported state police to “create competition and promote efficiency” while Professor Yakub kicked against it while arguing that there would be likelihood of its hijack by some state actors and used for the wrong reasons.