Frequently in public discourse, debates legitimately seeking changes to construct, constitutional orthodoxies, defective laws and outdated policies, are shut down by folks who seek to maintain the status quo, even when it is patently unfit-for-purpose.

Crystallising that proposition is the key question of whether the Nigerian Police Force should continue in its current command-and-control unitary model within the country’s democratic federal system of government, or whether the police administration should be devolved to state/sub-regional level?

The question sharply splits opinions. Opponents make three arguments. First, that Nigeria is immature for state police. Second, that state police risks dangerously empowering state governors. Third, that it will be inadequately funded by the states.

Proponents of state police make five important counter-arguments. One, that pervasive terrorism and insecurity, demands devolution. Two, that Nigeria confronts existential threats in complexities and scale, thus, proceeding with the extant pseudo-absolutist, unitary policing model is retrogressive policy. Three, that Nigeria copied its Presidential system of government from the USA, which itself operates devolved policing models.

So, why is Nigeria selectively applying the Presidential system of government with its inherent constitutional separation of powers, checks and balances on other arms (the executive, legislature and judiciary) of government?

Fourth, the extant command-and-control Nigerian policing model, notwithstanding, the heroic gallantry of the majority of officers, is still not an exemplar of global policing best practice; given serious corruption, criminal and misconduct charges, and convictions, against several serving officers over several years.

Fifth, devolved policing is effectively embedded and successfully operated in other countries, which highlights the material point that with focus, determination and the political will, there is absolutely no justifiable reason why state police cannot work in Nigeria.

For a start, Nigeria’s population is approximately 220 million and it has circa 370,000 police officers. The number of frontline police officers is, inferentially, much lower because a significant number are already assigned to VIPs, high net worth individuals, judicial officers and others.

What then are the facts? On April 27, 2024, approximately 23 personnel of Nigeria’s Civilian Joint Task Force were killed by terrorists in twin attacks by terrorists in Maiduguri, Northeast, Nigeria. On April 19, 2024, a Babcock University lecturer, Professor Olomojobi, was brutally murdered in Ogun State, having allegedly resisted a kidnap attempt by nine gunmen, who also seized two innocent persons. An arrest has been made.

March 14, 2024: 17 gallant officers of the Nigerian Army were murdered in Delta State. On March 9, 2024, terrorists attacked a boarding-school in Gidan-Bakuso, Sokoto State, kidnapping 17 students. 48hours before, on March 7, 2024, terrorists kidnapped 287 students at Kuriga, Kaduna state. The Governor later confirmed that all the kidnapped students were released.

Another savage attack, on a police station on February 3, 2024, witnessed the murder of four police officers by ISWAP in Nganzai, Borno State. These gory statistics are by no means exhaustive and reflect only a sample of terrorist atrocities in first four months of 2024.

Specifically, between July 2022 and June 2023, SBM Intelligence asserts that 3,620 persons were kidnapped in 582 incidents with approximately N5 billion or $3.88 million paid in ransom. It further asserts that since 2019, there have been 15,398 terrorism-linked kidnappings and 735 mass (involving 5 or more persons) abductions in Nigeria.

Now then, section 214 (1) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) establishes: “there shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to provisions of this section no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof…”

The provision effectively imbues the Nigeria Police Force with monopolistic policing powers nationwide. Notably, section 2(d) of the Nigerian Police Force Act 2020, which repealed the Police Act C.19 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, empowers “the Police Force to effectively prevent crimes without threatening the liberty and privacy of persons in Nigeria”; and section 2 (e) of the same enactment defines the functions of the Police Force as “the safety and security of all persons, communities and property in Nigeria.”

Anchored upon the cited fierce statistics, and these statutory provisions, can it be said with any modicum of veracity that the police, as presently configured, should continue in its pseudo-absolutist, unitary operational model? No! Because, a progressive nation should not keep repeating the same model of policing with poor and variable outcomes, against virulent threats from ultra-determined terrorists and expecting different results.

Therefore, this treatise advocates devolution of police powers as it is a reasonable projection of sovereignty for policing to be closer to local people, with local expertise and intelligence to better fight crime.

Does Nigeria lack the maturity for state police? The adjective, maturity, means capable, developed and grown-up. It negates perfection. Nigeria gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1960, 64 years ago! Nigeria operated a devolved policing model from Independence until 1966 when it became centralised.

Post-Independence, the country has been run by elected democratic leaders for 35 years, interspersed with 29 years of military dictatorships. The country weathered the tempestuous 1967-1970 Nigeria/Biafra civil war, which claimed approximately a million lives. Notwithstanding the warring concourse of relative calmness and virulent socio-political vicissitudes ever since, the country remains one!

Accordingly, the notion that Nigeria lacks the maturity to administer state police against ascendant terrorism is alluring sophistry. Afterall, according to John Heywood’s 1546 Glossary, ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’! Nigeria is not a nanny-state. It cannot continue to live in perpetual fear of police devolution, based on circular, emotional and unscientific arguments, offering precious little, regarding security of lives and property. Now is the time to dispel the paranoia of state police!

Much has been made of the powers of state governors and the fear that devolution of police powers to states would transform the former into demigods. This assertion rests upon the extremely faulty logic that state governors exercise absolute powers in Nigeria and implies that the existing unitary police model, with the Inspector-General, Police, at the top of the command-and-control chain is impeccable.

Fact is, state governors do not exercise absolute powers, neither is the existing unitary police model infallible. For one, statutory checks and balances exists relative to powers of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly to remove a President or State Governor pursuant to section 143 and 188 of the Nigerian Constitution (supra); which constrict absolutism.

Contextually, the elected Kaduna State Governor, Balarabe Musa, was impeached by the State House of Assembly in 1981 pursuant to section 170 of the 1979 Nigerian Constitution.

Turning to the 1999 Constitution (supra) provisions, elected Governor Alamieyeseigha was impeached in 2005, ditto Governor Nyako in 2014. The latter challenged his removal right up to the Supreme Court, which ultimately decided against his reinstatement.

The critical point to highlight in these three examples is that Nigeria’s constitutional framework clearly establishes checks and balances on the powers of executives at federal or state level. So, the idea that a state governor can run a state police like his personal fiefdom is misconceived!

The precarious financial straits of a number of states, is another justification advanced by opponents of state police. This is a red herring because, it assumes, incorrectly, that state administrators lack the imagination to optimise viable options for internally generated revenue; effectively and imaginatively collaborate with the private sector to establish security trust funds to finance devolved policing operations; maximise artificial intelligence, robotics and cutting- edge technology to crime detection, prevention and enforcement.

Lagos State is an exemplar in effective PPP security delivery strategies and adoption of leading technology in crime prevention. Nothing stops other states from adopting similar strategies.

Concluding, it is retrogressive to persist with existing unitary policing models which have been proven unfit for the desperate security challenges confronting the country. 21st Century policing must be proactively adaptable to current and emerging threats and adopt best-in-class technology to tackle criminality in all its manifestations.

Yes, police devolution is not the panacea to all terrorism and criminality in Nigeria. However, to the extent that the existing model has failed to sustainably address the country’s serious security challenges, a fresh model is absolutely essential.

Besides, police devolution does not imply border walls between other law enforcement agencies. Because the Armed Forces, Customs, DSS, DIA, EFCC, Immigration, Interpol, NSCDC, etc, will continue to collaborate to fight crime.

Furthermore, each country’s cultural, historical and socio-political dynamics is unique. Nevertheless, uniqueness shouldn’t be exercised at the expense of empirical evidence which demonstrates that devolved policing is more effective in tackling crime than unitary command-and-control models.

According to the 2024 World Population Review crime index survey: Australia, recorded 46.70 crimes per 100,000 people; UK, recorded 46.90 crimes per 100,000 people; USA recorded 49.20 crimes per 100,000 people. And Nigeria, with a centralised command-and-control policing model recorded 65.80 crimes per 100,000 people.

Ergo, the average crime rate per of 47.6 crimes per 100,000 people in Australia, UK and USA springs a statistically significant positive variance of 18.2 crimes per 100,000 people in Nigeria.

Given this statistical evidence, there is no basis for a centralised policing-model in Nigeria and the paranoia around state police is scientifically baseless.

With pragmatic political will, it is recommended that the National Assembly proceeds with the necessary legislative processes to effect police devolution in Nigeria; ditto, scaling-up recruitment, training, incentivisation and retention policies.

Ojumu is the Principal Partner at Balliol Myers LP, a firm of legal practitioners and strategy consultants in Lagos, Nigeria, and the author of The Dynamic Intersections of Economics, Foreign Relations, Jurisprudence and National Development.