Last week’s declaration by the Senate and House of Representatives that the country’s security system is a “failed architecture” thereby backing the call for the establishment of state police to contain the escalating killings by herdsmen across many states requires serious scrutiny. It is pertinent for the legislature to thread softly and apply caution on the matter as the issues that informed the rejection of previous proposals for state police are still germane and potent.
The federal lawmakers’ decision to grant the request of many prominent Nigerians including governors for state police stems from the continued killings in the country and the inability of security agencies to end incessant violence and murders. The two chambers of the National Assembly have, therefore, agreed to amend the constitution to achieve this objective. To achieve the state police structure, the House resolved to revisit the amendment of the 1999 Constitution so that the present federal police structure would be decentralised, while the Senate has begun the process to amend the constitution to allow for the creation of state police.
The Senate at the plenary on Tuesday mandated the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution led by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, to present an amendment bill within two weeks. The lawmakers resolved that the bill would enjoy speedy consideration. Senate President Bukola Saraki said that the executive had failed to act on previous resolutions by the legislature on security matters. “We have spoken on many platforms and made suggestions on the part of the executive, on the fact that we believe that there is the need for an urgent review of the security architecture. Somebody did mention that the debates in the House of Lords also raised this one point. “How do we think that our economy will attract investments with this kind of climate?
It cannot happen. So, we must see it not only from the point of view that there is danger to security, there is also danger if we want to push our economy, it will just become stagnant.” The House of Representatives passed the resolution for a state police after five members from Plateau state moved a motion on the “Massacre of over 215 Persons in Plateau state.” The session, which was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, condemned the attacks and called for the recovery of over 52 villages under illegal occupation by herdsmen in Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Bokkos, Bassa and Mangu local government areas of Plateau state.
The Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, supported the motion and said that the country could no longer run away from the reality of state police. He stated, “Our security architecture needs to be changed and the time has come for the creation of state police. Let us amend our constitution; we can even agree to fast-track it by attaching it to the pending Petroleum Industry Bill for presentation to the President.” It is instructive that on three previous attempts since 2010, a proposal for state police was rejected by the National Assembly during the amendment of the constitution.
Similarly, a proposal by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for the establishment of state police at the recent security summit organised by the Senate was rejected. The apprehension or misgivings for the decentralization of the police hierarchy hinge primarily on the fact that the system would be susceptible to abuse by state governors. Consequently, while we agree with the National Assembly on the need to contain the spate of killings across the country including the massacre of 215 persons in Plateau state and last week’s killing of seven policemen at Lokogoma District, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja by unknown gunmen, we advise that caution is necessary in this regard.
Thus, in amending the 1999 Constitution to give effect to the establishment of state police, the National Assembly must seek to address some fundamental issues bordering on the scope and nature of the state police structure, the modus operandi as well as its control and allegiance. These safeguards are necessary given the fact that since our politicians have over the years demonstrated a high level of intolerance of opposing views, governors could easily use their respective state police to hound opposition elements, which will pose a grave danger to the nation’s hard won democracy. We, therefore, advise the Senate and the House of Representatives to be wary of the spirit and letters of the constitutional amendment in order to avoid compounding an anomaly in the quest to remedy it.
