THE proposal to create state police and if possible local government police is consistent with the principle of true federalism and decentralization of powers. The arrangement would enable the states to effectively maintain law and order, especially during emergencies.
The handlings of the various inter-communal upheavals in the various states of the federation since the beginning of the current democratic governance left much to be desired. This, many people believe, was due to the provision of Section 215 of the Constitution which hinders a Governor from exercising his power as Chief Security Officer of the State.
In some instances, however, people often accuse these groups as some kind of local “militia” who would not hesitate to take the laws into their hands at will and molest people. The recent experiences in some parts of this country constitute sufficient lessons not to allow local “militia” to be formed. The Nigeria Police is however so badly equipped and unmotivated and so could not effectively deal with the crime and security situation in the country.
The fall of the First Republic was partly blamed on the ignoble use of the regional and local police. It was, therefore, feared that it was too soon in the life of Nigeria’s nascent democracy for the idea of State Police to be entertained. For this school of thought, it was argued that the need for state Commissioners of Police to occasionally clear operational instructions with the Inspector-General was intended to check abuses and ensure that the orders by Governors were actually lawful.