Senate Leader Outlines Legal Framework To Prevent Abuse of State Police

In a bid to boost professionalism, accountability and transparency in the police force, senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has on Monday advocated for a legal framework for state police to prevent abuse from governors.

Bamidele, who made this statement in Abuja added that, "state police remained the best way to guarantee adequate security for Nigerians and the national assets, as well as create a functional economy."

He argued that the current unitary policing structure was no longer desirable as a result of the country’s huge population, explaining that the National Assembly was under obligation to provide a legal framework that would provide clearly defined preconditions, to which sub-national governments must conform before they could establish their own police formations.

Bamidele added that the role of all the 36 state Houses of Assembly was equally indispensable in the quest to adopt the decentralised police system, because at least, the two-thirds of the state legislatures must approve the proposal before it could become effective. 

He said the legal framework must be actionable and definite, evident and transparent, to allay public concern about state police. 

According to him, "It must convincingly address thorny issues that can, in the future, encourage the arbitrary use of state police by governors. 

“It must clearly set out globally acceptable standards for unambiguous definition of the investigative, operational and prosecutorial powers of state police. 

“There must be well-structured welfare packages that will discourage unethical practices, minimum security equipment that will encourage efficiency, mainstreaming accountability and transparency mechanisms into the state police operations as well as promoting professionalism across all strata of police operatives, among others.

“Providing a legal framework for the establishment of state police should not be confused with its actual implementation, when eventually adopted. 

“Each of the sub-national governments is at liberty to set its own timeline for the operationalisation of state police within its jurisdiction. 

“By implication, sub-national governments can choose to operationalise their own police formations at their own pace. 

“Every state, already prepared for its operationalisation, can go ahead with it without further delay. 

“The development of the legal framework will prevent sub-national governments from hiding under vigilante groups to arm people unconstitutionally. 

“The National Assembly must comprehensively set out the legal framework for establishing state police so that all sub-national governments can follow laid-down principles and procedures in bid to protect people’s lives and secure collective assets. 

“The legal framework, no doubt, entails setting a globally acceptable policing standard, an assignment the National Assembly must carry out in outright demonstration of our spirit of nationalism, non-partisanism and utter allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” 

Like other models, Bamidele said the benefits of state police outweighed its costs in all ramifications and “now is the time for us as a people of collective purpose to do the needful in the national interest”.