A Research Professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Professor Olufemi Otubanjo, has argued that concerns over the possible abuse of state police by governors should not prevent Nigeria from implementing what he described as a long overdue reform necessary for strengthening federalism and improving security management.
Otubanjo made this known during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, while reacting to the Senate’s passage of a constitutional amendment bill seeking the establishment of state police services across the country.
The professor described state police as a natural component of a federal system, noting that Nigeria’s highly centralised policing structure has weakened the autonomy of state governments in addressing security challenges.
According to him, “State police is something that was long overdue. Long overdue because of the fact that it is a natural part of federalism to have state police and to have state control of the judiciary, and so on.”
He added, “It’s high time Nigeria had state police, because it is part of federalism. We are a federal system. Every federal system has division of labour. Just as we have the high court system at the state level, we have police at the state level. These are all state functions.”
Otubanjo lamented what he described as the abuse of federalism through the concentration of powers at the centre, arguing that responsibilities such as policing and judicial administration should be shared among different levels of government.
“We have abused federalism in Nigeria for so long. So, state police is a natural offshoot of federalism, if you have a federal system,” he said.
Using the recent kidnapping incident in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State as an example, the professor argued that governors often lack the authority to effectively coordinate security responses within their states under the current arrangement.
“We have had this over-centralization of the police to the point that a governor clearly does not have control of the commissioner under him. Now, there’s a problem in Oyo State, in Oriire Local Government. The governor does not control the security situation,” he stated.
He further maintained that the establishment of state police would provide state governments and regional security outfits with greater operational flexibility in tackling crime and insecurity.
“Federal police has been known to stop other paramilitary organizations saying that they don’t have power to do what they are doing. The state police grants that power. The state police system grants that opportunity for flexible operations,” he said.
While supporting the proposal, Otubanjo acknowledged that the new policing structure could face challenges in its early stages, including jurisdictional disputes and possible political interference.
“There will be rough edges at the beginning. There will be jurisdictional conflicts. There will be over zealousness on the part of governors to use the police against their opponents,” he noted.
However, he expressed confidence that legal and constitutional safeguards would gradually address such concerns.
“So all those things will be captured gradually in legal restrictions and constitutional provisions, and gradually we will get used to it. We have to start. We have to start it,” he added.
The professor insisted that fears of abuse should not derail the reform, describing state police as an idea whose time had finally arrived.
“So the state police is an idea whose time has long been overdue. It has come. And I think that gradually we will work out all the rough edges,” he said.
Drawing comparisons with other federal systems, including the United States, Germany and India, Otubanjo argued that decentralised policing has proven effective in many countries and should be embraced in Nigeria to strengthen governance and security administration.
