A former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mike Okiro, has said the growing demand for state police reflects the perceived failure of Nigeria’s federal policing system to address worsening insecurity.
Naijaonpoint reports that Okiro stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, saying the current police structure was weak, poorly funded and ill-equipped.
Okiro stated, “The Nigerian police is badly disorganised, disenchanted, demoralised, understaffed, ill-equipped and ill-trained.”
The former police chief said Nigerians would not be calling for state police if the federal police had performed effectively.
“If the police had been well-equipped, nobody would be talking about state police. People are talking about state police because the federal police have failed. If they had succeeded, nobody would talk about it,” he said.
Okiro identified poor funding as the biggest challenge facing the force, noting that it had led to manpower shortages and the closure of several police stations.
The former IGP added, “Funding is a major problem. Most police stations are closed down because there is no manpower.
Despite acknowledging the weaknesses of the current system, Okiro warned against establishing state police without strong constitutional safeguards.
He said governors could abuse their control over state police for political purposes if proper checks and balances were not in place.
According to Okiro, “My initial fear is abuse.
“At the moment, governors are recognised by the Constitution as chief security officers of their states, but their influence over the police is limited. If state police are established without proper checks and balances, governors may use them as they please.
“It will take us to the ‘operation wetie’ in the 60’s that led to the reason Gowon adopted the unity police.”
Okiro said Nigeria must avoid returning to past abuses that contributed to the adoption of a unified police structure.
“We will go back to where we started from. So, the constitution should be well written out with proper guidelines to save the police from the high-handedness of the governors,” he said.
