State police: 20 governors’ decisions ready for NEC – NGF

The decisions of the remaining 20 state governors on the proposed establishment of state police are expected to be submitted within the next four weeks.

This is according to the Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Asishana Okauru, who spoke in an exclusive interview with Sunday PUNCH on Friday.

Sixteen state governors had earlier thrown their weight behind the establishment of state police as a panacea for the insecurity ravaging the different parts of the country.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nwkocha, had earlier disclosed in a statement that discussions were held at a meeting of the National Economic Council and that 16 out of the 36 states had already submitted their reports on the state policing initiative.

The NEC received the reports from the 16 governors at its 140th meeting held at the Aso Rock Villa on March 21, 2024.

Nwkocha said there was an expectation that the remaining 20 governors, whose identities were not disclosed, would also submit their reports, stressing that all the states across the country expressed their support for the establishment of state police.

Okauru explained in a telephone conversation with one of our correspondents that the governors were unanimous in their support of the state police.

He added that the remaining 20 governors were already in the process of submitting their reports, and would turn them in a few weeks from now.

According to him, it became clear after the NGF’s last meeting that there was a need for the governors to speed up “whatever report they were putting together in respect of state police and submit it.”

He said, “The official position of the forum is in favour of state police. I don’t know of any state that is not in support of state police. I can tell you that I don’t know of any state not in support of the idea. That the governors have not submitted their reports for now is not saying they are not in support of it (state police).

“They are in the process of submitting their reports and I can tell you that in the next couple of weeks that would have been resolved. This is the only way to go. The forum has come a long way. So, there’s a very strong consensus in support of state police.”

National Assembly for review, while the governors would only append their signatures afterward.

According to him, allowances received by the state governments from the income generated from the removal of fuel subsidy should be enough to fund the state policing initiative.

Adeyi said, “Ordinarily, it’s supposed to be the responsibility of the state governors and state governments, but they are going to complement the effort of the Federal Government. With the removal of subsidy on petrol, there should be enough money on the ground to fund state police. I have that confidence except if the governors are not prudent in managing their resources.

“State police is going to be the best because it is going to be domiciled where the people are living; so automatically I will know you, and you will know me. At least, as a community person, you will not take sides with any judgment.

“I read a report recently that state governors don’t need to write a memo before the matter can be resolved. So, what the Federal Government should do is what a member of the House of Representatives has done. He has submitted a bill to the National Assembly. Let them review the law and that is all. Once the bill is passed by the National Assembly, the state governments will just go there and do their job.”

However, the founder of Beacon Consulting, an Abuja-based security risk management and intelligence consulting firm, Kabir Adamu, said the country was not ready for state police with the current process of governance in the states.

According to him, creating state police is dangerous as it will turn the governors into “mini-emperors.”

He said, “It is indicated in the Renewed Hope Agenda that the Federal Government will decentralise policing. What we don’t know is the form it will take. I do not think we are ready for state police as a country. While there is a need to enhance security at the grassroots, I am worried that if we hand control of policing over to the governors, we are going to have mini-emperors.

“They (governors) are ruling their states like mini-emperors. They have the legislature under their control; they have the judiciary to an extent under their control. So, if you take the instrument of power, which is security, and add to these other components, we will have stronger mini-emperors.”

He, however, said there was a need for the establishment of policies that would improve the democratic culture at the state level where the legislature could effectively check the excess of the executive before policing could be decentralised.

On her part, a professor of Criminology at the Kaduna State University, Evelyn Yusuf, said the creation of state police was important to address the security challenges in the country.

She stated, “State police would have been excellent if the ruling class would allow the personnel to work and not engage them for other things. If there will be no abuse of power, I am in support of state police, because we need more police up to the level of community police to be able to curb the insecurity in Nigeria.

“There should be a policy that will guide against the ruling class using them as political thugs. If that can be done, state police will be fantastic. I recommend community policing more than any form of policing because, within the community, we know ourselves and anyone coming into the community will be easily identified.”