•Femi Falana, SAN
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has warned that the creation of state police will not resolve insecurity in Nigeria unless the government addresses poverty and unemployment.
Falana, who appeared on Channels Television last night, said the country’s insecurity challenge was often narrowly reduced to questions of security architecture, without adequate attention to social security and the conditions driving young people into crime.
“We always reduce the problem of insecurity to security architecture, in fact structure. How do we have more police stations? How do we employ more policemen and women without considering social security?” Falana queried.
“Why are more young men taking to criminality? Why are we not talking about creating employment for young people? Why are we not giving assistance to Nigerians that are vulnerable, extremely poor or dimensionally poor? And unless you address these problems holistically, creating a state police or local government police will not address the crisis of insecurity in the country.”
His comments came after President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday transmitted to the Senate a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of state police services across the federation.
The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday after Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele presented its general principles. The bill subsequently scaled second reading, was considered clause-by-clause and passed third reading, with more than two-thirds of senators voting in support.
When assented to by the President, the legislation will replace the existing Nigeria Police Force framework with a dual structure comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services.
A key provision of the bill empowers state governors to appoint commissioners of police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by the state Houses of Assembly.
Lawmakers also incorporated safeguards aimed at protecting political freedoms and civil liberties, in response to concerns about possible abuse of the proposed policing structure.
Falana said regional police was not new to Nigeria, noting that the country operated a decentralised policing system during the First Republic.
However, he said the system was abolished due to what he described as the gross abuse of police powers by regional leaders.
He said Nigeria must address the issues that led to the abolition of the dual policing system if it intends to return to it.
“If we now want to go back to the status quo ante bellum, we must ask questions. The fears that were entertained, the problem that led to the abolition of the dual policing system, have they been taken care of? I haven’t seen any signs. I have seen the bill passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, the bill is so sketchy,” he said.
Falana also raised concerns about checks and balances in the operation of state police, as well as the ability of some state governments to fund the proposed police services.
He said some state governments could barely pay salaries and pensions.
