SELF-HELP AND THE ROAD TO UROMI

 KUNLE OSISANYA argues the urgent need to decentralise the Police Force

Section 14 (2b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended stipulates that security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

Despite this lofty declaration, Nigerians are daily inundated with reports of bandits appropriating, administering territory and economic resources as well as kidnapping for ransom. Others include livestock rustling, farmer-herder clashes, vandalism of public infrastructure and separatist agitations, all enabled by military grade weapons. These vices negatively impact the socio-economic wellbeing of communities.

The above introduces some of the serious policing and security challenges across Nigeria, as exemplified by a recent event at Uromi which made national headlines. The sad event is the latest in a long list, and raises several questions which this write-up seeks to highlight, discuss and propose solutions.

On Friday 28th March 2025, Nigerians awoke to a widely shared video on social media which conveyed the gory sight of torched human beings. The victims of the barbaric act which occurred on 27th March 2025 at Uromi in Esan North local government area (LGA) of Edo State were said to be Nigerian citizens returning home from hunting expeditions in Rivers State, transiting to Kano State for the Salah celebrations.

While there are conflicting accounts of what led to the gruesome event at Uromi; however, there is no disputing the 16 fatalities and other injuries, after interception and lynching by a mob of locals. The first question is, why did the locals not hand-over the suspects to officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) but resort to self-help?

The shocking development generated reactions and widespread condemnation across the country with demands for justice for the victims whose kindred even threatened reprisals. Conversely, sympathizers of the perpetrators rationalized the dastardly act as self-help, due to previously unresolved cases of kidnappings and destruction of farmlands of the locals with passions further exacerbated by the discovery of hidden firearms in the trailer conveying the victims. A clear case of lack of trust in the police.

 As the exchanges and saber rattling intensified and realizing the gravity of the incidence and the potential for escalation, relevant political leaders, especially Governors Monday Okpebholo of Edo State and Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State showed exemplary leadership to douse tensions.

Their de-escalation efforts include the apprehension of 14 suspected perpetrators, the suspension of negligent officials in Edo as well as condolence visits to the bereaved families in Kano, with assurances that justice would be served along with payment of adequate compensation.

But how well has government at all tiers in Nigeria fared in the provision of security?

One of the first remedial actions taken by the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo was the suspension of the commander of the Edo State Security Corps, who is a retired Commissioner of Police. Furthermore, a statement by the SSG Edo informed that the local vigilante group that slayed the hunters was not registered and had operated illegally,

Interestingly, earlier on the 19th Feb, 2025, the Kano State Governor assented to a State House of Assembly (HoA) bill for its own security outfit. The bill empowered the Kano State Security Neighborhood Watch to bear arms and support security agencies to combat crime across the state.

Similarly, majority of the state governments in Nigeria have created agencies to address security challenges peculiar to their jurisdictions. Some of the state security outfits include ‘amotekun’ in the SW zone, ‘hisbah’ a shariah law enforcement agency in some northern states, Vigilante groups, Civilian JTF and Neighborhood Watch, amongst others. The proliferation extended to some LGAs and community levels. 

• Does the 1999 constitution of Nigeria as amended allow states and LGAs to operate security agencies?

Part 1 of the second schedule (exclusive legislative list) of the 1999 constitution as amended lists items that only the National Assembly (NASS) could make laws. Some of the relevant items that states and LGAs are precluded from legislating on include: (2) arms, ammunition and explosives, (28) fingerprints identification and criminal records, (45) police and other government security services established by law, (48) prisons and (63) traffic on federal trunk roads.

While the constitutional limits to states and LGAs participation in police and related services in Nigeria seem obvious; however, the reality is that many state governments make significant resource inputs to support the NPF and sister federal security agencies. This is in addition to setting up quasi police outfits to complement the management of traffic, waste, motor parks and markets.

Without a constitutional amendment to review the listed issues from the exclusive to the concurrent legislative list, these well documented and commendable efforts by state governments and LGAs in policing their jurisdictions, still fall within the category of self-help.

It has been argued that the centralization of the NPF is a relic of Nigeria’s colonial past, which was reinforced by about 30 years of military rule. Centralized policing against a decentralized judiciary is contradictory to the aims of the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria. Therefore, achieving uniformity of both is necessary for enhanced national security.

Also, the criminal enterprises seem to have mastered and dominated some of the vast ungoverned spaces and exploited the low-density presence of law enforcement in some rural areas to thrive. Finding alternatives and solutions by governments has become mandatory for national survival. 

What is the way forward?

The use of the term ‘decentralized policing’ rather than the commonly used ‘creation of state police’ in this write-up is deliberate. The main arguments by opponents of state police are that state governors would frustrate neutrality and abuse it to intimidate political opponents. Also, they claim that it may not guarantee the fundamental rights of other resident Nigerians who are non-indigenes of a state. I am of the view that Nigerians need to rise above such dilly-dallying to address other existential threats to our future.

While some have expressed fears that achieving the requirement of approval by 2/3 of the NASS as well as states HoA may prove daunting, the past year has witnessed concerted efforts by both the legislative and executive arms of the FGN and states to take the bull by the horns. A bill to that effect passed second reading at the House of Representatives and supported by Speakers of the 36 state HoA. Equally, state Governors used the 147 National Economic Council meeting to announce unanimity and agreement with FGN initiatives towards the multi-layer policing. 

Timely conclusion of the process of constitutional amendment as well as the follow-up legislation by state houses is paramount. Effective policing at various sub-nationals would therefore be predicated on agreeing to identical guidelines on standard operational procedures (SOP), recruitment and training. Others include, streamlining jurisdiction and collaboration between federal police and other states police, intelligence sharing, search and arrests, exchange of suspects and details of caliber of arms amongst others. These are to be followed up with extensive public sensitization.

The objective of the seeming consensus towards decentralized policing could be jeopardized by further delays. Nigeria can once more leverage on her history of bold moves to address extraordinary situations. Reminders include the ‘doctrine of necessity’ in 2010 to solve a political quagmire. Similarly, following the failure of the NASS in 2022 to grant greater autonomy to LGAs, which failed at the states HoA, the Supreme Court was approached and in July 2024 reaffirmed the rights of LGAs to revenue allocations directly from the federation account.

In conclusion, the apparent unanimity of the Nigerian political spectrum towards decentralized policing needs to be complemented by decisive action, proactiveness in creating uniform guidelines and possibly extraordinary intervention by the political leadership, to take the issue across the finish line. Every effort to combat the various security challenges are welcomed.

Osisanya,fdc, olakunleosisanyag@gmail.com