By Pascal Ibe
The same State governors who can go to any extent in the use of federal police to clampdown and intimidate their opposition or citizens, are vigorously clamouring for State Police.
We have seen and witnessed reprehensible and vile actions of State governors who continues to handle a prestigious arm of government as a total zero-value institution under their control. These State governors dictate who’s the Speaker of a State House of Assembly as well as the overall leadership there. At their own will, the State governors in Nigeria donates brown envelopes, luxury cars and even building the Assembly complex for these State legislatures.
The State governors always had the State Assembly on their left pockets as its pleases them anytime.
In the end , the governors only needed to just give out commands and instructions to the lawmakers on anything or laws they wish.
Any honest attempt to differ with what these corrupt lawmakers are doing, will be greeted with a total stamp out or suspension from their gathering.
The grotesque and horrid incident of how Imo Assembly lawmakers took huge bribe to defect to the rulling party in 2020 cannot be ruled out.
Since 1999, the actions and activities of State Assemblies in every State in Nigeria are controlled by a governor of that State.
To talk about the Judiciary, then this piece won’t end in the next one week, the governors always had the Judiciary in the right pockets.
The State high courts judges being appointed by governor of a State is red flag. The State Judiciary is just fully unscrupulous, compromised and loyal to a State governor.
This venal and crooked order in the State Judiciaries and Assemblies have been in existence for years, but the recent thought of State Police as a result of unending insecurity in Nigeria is quite very disquieting and frightening.
At hand, the villainous police brutality in Nigeria is not ending any time soon and we are making suggestions on how to initiate s police that will be owned and regulated by the State governors.
State police, entails the decentralization of law enforcement authority, granting individual states within a federal system the power to establish and manage their own police forces. Under this model, states would have the autonomy to address security issues specific to their regions, tailoring law enforcement strategies to local needs and priorities.
Proponents argue that state police can foster greater community engagement, enhance responsiveness to local concerns, and improve overall security outcomes. The existing centralized police system has faced criticism for its inability to effectively address the security concerns of the diverse Nigerian population. The call for state police stems from the need for a more localized approach to law enforcement that can better cater to the specific security needs of different regions within Nigeria.
Personally, I won’t agree with the opinion of Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetekun that Nigeria is not ripe for State Police, because he’s be right, rather the IGP stand on State Police may be his fears that the State Police will stop some huge benefits coming to him as the boss.
Looking at the other hand, it’s known already what these cruel governors have done with both the federal police and the local State security outfits both in the past and present to intimidate the common citizens and their perceived oppositions
Expert are not even needed to analyze the peril and menace the State Police will constitute. Governors will use it as private milita to hatch their desired plans.
Backed by imo State government, the atrocious activities by Ebubeagu security outfit in Imo State years ago is an example. Unchecked, unchallenged by anyone, Ebubeagu security outfit violated the human rights of many in the State within these years.
Warning against the coming of State Police, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana said that there must be proper guarantees under the law to prevent situations where governors use police apparatus to intimidate and oppress political opponents.
He said at the moment, policing has been decentralised in the country as residential estates and communities have private security outfits with personnel armed with different weapons guarding inhabitants of such communities.
A journalist, Steve Uzoechi asked question about this State police, “CAN SOMEONE EDUCATE ME:
With what instrument shall we oversight and regulate State Police effectively and prevent Governors from appropriating it as their private militia?
We don’t have any tools to checkmate the excesses and glut which State Police comes with yet we are seeking for it so badly.
We must be very concerned and careful of what we wish for, the calamity of State Police Outweighs its advantages.
Pascal Ibe, a journalist and writer, writes from Owerri, Imo State.
ibepascal858@gmail.com
