A Nigerian Political Scientist, Academic, and Activist, Professor Jubrin Ibrahim, has kicked against the push for leaving the administration of proposed state police under state governance.
He kicked while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise on Saturday.
Prof Ibrahim argued that leaving the running of state police under the watch of state governors could be detrimental to the overall positive expectations, as there could be cases of power abuse.
[embedded content]According to him, the governors are susceptible of outstepping their authority by employing the outfit as tools against their political opponents, instead of against criminals.
“I think the core argument that has been made for State police is the constitutional argument, which is to say that Nigeria is a federation, and at different levels of authority, they have the right to establish security to cover their own areas of competence.
“Therefore, as it was in the First Republic, there is a need for each federating unit to have its state police.
“Now, if that is the argument, I don’t know why the Federal Police is being asked to provide the framework for the establishment of police, because it is the responsibility of the state governments to frame the duties and modes of operations of the state police.
“However, my biggest concern is that we know the way and level at which the state governments are being governed.
“We know the way state governments go to oppress the opposition, and make sure their powers are unchallenged.
“Within this political context, I have always argued that it is not wise to allow such people who want to eliminate political opponents to be in control of state police because they won’t use it against criminals but against their perceived opponents or enemies.
“The idea of state policing is worrisome, and I think if we go ahead to set them up, and they are under the control of state governance, we are in for trouble”, he said.
He then questioned the reason behind the idea of state policing, and whether it would still be left under the control of the Nigeria Police Force.
“However, if the state police is under the control of the Police Force, then I don’t know what the argument is. Why proceed if you are not bringing a fundamental change to the system?”
His stance comes after Tunji Disu, the inspector-general of police (IGP), inaugurated a seven-member steering committee on the establishment of state police in Nigeria.
The committee, which will be led by Olu Ogunsakin, a professor of police studies, was inaugurated on Wednesday.
Disu said the decentralisation of the police will enable state governments and local authorities to respond to specific security challenges within their jurisdictions.
On numerous occasions, President Bola Tinubu has promised that his administration will create state police as part of the measures to address the country’s insecurity.
Recently, Tinubu asked both chambers of the national assembly to amend the 1999 constitution to create a legal framework for the establishment of state police.
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