While there is huge clamour for state policing in Nigeria...i believe we must weigh in the pros and cons ..
Personally for me, i believe state policing should only be on a personnel basis...for example, the Bayelsa state police command should comprise of at least 70 percent Bayelsa citizens....
In a federal state, i do not subscribe to the idea of states, owning and funding their own police with different sets of laws .. especially in a heterogenous state like Nigeria....look at Ethiopia for example, each region has well armed forces, this led to tigray defying Federal orders...
The USA is battling with crime , because each city have their own police, with varying rules, funding, e.t.c... i do not agree with this, security of a state should be uniform, same rules, one police command, this is to achieve unified security outcomes in the federation...
In the USA, City A has better economic, this will translate to a better well funded police force, city B has poor economy, this will led to a weaker police force...City A has Liberal leaders in their councils, this may lead to different rules and regulations for police and law enforcement, City B has conservatives, vice versa...
I do not agree with this, security must be uniform, under the direction and leadership of the federal government....
What are your thoughts...

While i agree that Governors in Nigeria should play a greater role in Law enforcement, i do not agree that they should have full control of police forces....
I believe governors and states can tweak rules and law enforcement strategies in their respective states, but it should still be in coordination with the federal government one way or another...
Nigerian Police Must Reform, But it must be done correctly....

Say no to State Police.

Charge your state governors, they're the chief security of each states, let them start spending their security votes instead of looting it.

madridguy:

The question should be "can tinupoo do it?"

Tinupoo the hypocrite emergency activist that became clueless immediately he stole power.

How do you think Canada is? You look for the worst to justify why you're not progressive

Minsk24:
While there is huge clamour for state policing in Nigeria...i believe we must weigh in the pros and cons ..
Personally for me, i believe state policing should only be on a personnel basis...for example, the Bayelsa state police command should comprise of at least 70 percent Bayelsa citizens....
In a federal state, i do not subscribe to the idea of states, owning and funding their own police with different sets of laws .. especially in a heterogenous state like Nigeria....look at Ethiopia for example, each region has well armed forces, this led to tigray defying Federal orders...
The USA is battling with crime , because each city have their own police, with varying rules, funding, e.t.c... i do not agree with this, security of a state should be uniform, same rules, one police command, this is to achieve unified security outcomes in the federation...
In the USA, City A has better economic, this will translate to a better well funded police force, city B has poor economy, this will led to a weaker police force...City A has Liberal leaders in their councils, this may lead to different rules and regulations for police and law enforcement, City B has conservatives, vice versa...
I do not agree with this, security must be uniform, under the direction and leadership of the federal government....
What are your thoughts...

DMerciful:
How do you think Canada is? You look for the worst to justify why you're not progressive

I do not have a good idea of Canada's police structure, please educate me ..like i said, there are always pros and cons

Before state police can work, governors MUST take 100% control of resources in their states.

With the FIJ report that shows only 11 states can pay civil servants and meet their obligations without federal allocation, there's no way governors can afford to sustain state police.

SoNature:
Before state police can work, governors MUST take 100% control of resources in their states.

With the FIJ report that shows only 11 states can pay civil servants and meet their obligations without federal allocation, there's no way governors can afford to sustain state police.

Yes you are right, states have to be economically viable to enable state Policing, but this is also a con of totally decentralized policing, because states with weak economy will have weak police...so there has to be very strong coordination with the federal government in all aspects for state policing reforms...

In Canada, you have police even upto the city level. Each city has their own police. For example, Warri police, Owerri police, Ikorodu police. This way they're able to respond to crime faster because they know almost everybody within their domain

Minsk24:

I do not have a good idea of Canada's police structure, please educate me ..like i said, there are always pros and cons

DMerciful:
In Canada, you have police even upto the city level. Each city has their own police. For example, Warri police, Owerri police, Ikorodu police. This way they're able to respond to crime faster because they know almost everybody within their domain

That is the same thing with the US, my disagreement with this method is the fact that the city police of US is controlled by the City council, and funded by it as well ..so if a city's economy is weak, it will affect police funding, what about personnel, some cities may find it difficult to recruit staffs...
Look at Washington DC city council trying to vote on a new crime bill to address rising crime rates in the city, Trump has vowed Federal takeover of the city if he wins....so u can see that police rules varies very much across different cities and this can lead to different crime rates in the country...
While i advocate for a certain level of decentralization, i believe the federal government must still be actively involved in policing....

You keep going to the US! What is the crime rate in Canada? What is the crime rate in the UK?

The US have the second amendment that gives citizens the right to own guns so thats where their insecurity is coming from; guns in the hands of drug addicts and gangs.

Minsk24:

That is the same thing with the US, my disagreement with this method is the fact that the city police of US is controlled by the City council, and funded by it as well ..so if a city's economy is weak, it will affect police funding, what about personnel, some cities may find it difficult to recruit staffs...
Look at Washington DC city council trying to vote on a new crime bill to address rising crime rates in the city, Trump has vowed Federal takeover of the city if he wins....so u can see that police rules varies very much across different cities and this can lead to different crime rates in the country...
While i advocate for a certain level of decentralization, i believe the federal government must still be actively involved in policing....

DMerciful:
You keep going to the US! What is the crime rate in Canada? What is the crime rate in the UK?

The US have the second amendment that gives citizens the right to own guns so thats where their insecurity is coming from; guns in the hands of drug addicts and gangs.

Because it works very well in Canada, does not mean that the cons are not valid, especially when u seek to apply it to Nigeria... while gun ownership is part of the problem, the law enforcement structure in the US is also playing a role in crime...

We Nigerians always look for reasons why change will not work rather than putting the necessary checks in place to make it work.

Our current security architecture is not working because its too centralized but you want us to remain stuck with it. Decentralized police structure is working well in other climes yet you're looking at Nigeria has having a unique problem.

Do you know what federalism is all about? You can call Nigeria a federal system yet doing things that are against federalism

Minsk24:

Because it works very well in Canada, does not mean that the cons are not valid, especially when u seek to apply it to Nigeria... while gun ownership is part of the problem, the law enforcement structure in the US is also playing a role in crime...

DMerciful:
We Nigerians always look for reasons why change will not work rather than putting the necessary checks in place to make it work.

Our current security architecture is not working because its too centralized but you want us to remain stuck with it. Decentralized police structure is working well in other climes yet you're looking at Nigeria has having a unique problem.

Do you know what federalism is all about? You can call Nigeria a federal system yet doing things that are against federalism

Oga can u even read at all?
Have you read tru this thread and all u deduced is that i am canvassing against decentralization? Nawa oh..
I said, Total decentralization has too much cons for Nigeria, while decentralization is needed,there is need for a degree of federal control and coordination with states ...

Each of the nationalities that makes up Nigeria were living for thousands of years before the British came. They did not go into extinction because of crime. Its not that hard!

Minsk24:

Oga can u even read at all?
Have you read tru this thread and all u deduced is that i am canvassing against decentralization? Nawa oh..
I said, Total decentralization has too much cons for Nigeria, while decentralization is needed,there is need for a degree of federal control and coordination with states ...

DMerciful:
Each of the nationalities that makes up Nigeria were living for thousands of years before the British came. They did not go into extinction because of crime. Its not that hard!

Abeg how does this relate to the topic, please educate me sir

Decentralizing the police to if possible local government level is akin to each community protecting their villages before the coming of the British to form the country Nigeria.

Before the coming of the British, small autonomous communities were able to protect themselves through arrangements like vigilantes that were very effective, which I likened to city police. We're saying the police should be brought back to that microscopic level. If the policing of a community depends on a person who is not from that place and stays 1000km away, how will it be effective?

As for the cons you said, the pros far outweigh the cons

Minsk24:

Abeg how does this relate to the topic, please educate me sir

State Police is the solution to insecurity in the country.

Once States have their own Police, then if they like, let them allow Bandits, Kidnappers and Armed Robbers overrun their respective states

DMerciful:
Decentralizing the police to if possible local government level is akin to each community protecting their villages before the coming of the British to form the country Nigeria.

Before the coming of the British, small autonomous communities were able to protect themselves through arrangements like vigilantes that were very effective, which I likened to city police. We're saying the police should be brought back to that microscopic level. If the policing of a community depends on a person who is not from that place and stays 1000km away, how will it be effective?

As for the cons you said, the pros far outweigh the cons

Lol, oga u dy hear yourself at all?
Nigeria is a sovereign state, before the British came, there was nothing like a unified state entity in Nigeria....now as a unified sovereign entity, everything has to be organized to ensure the stability of the state...
Nigeria cannot afford autonomous local government policing, the countries u mention as example have far bigger economies, but the case is different in Nigeria and u must factor in these challenges as we make reforms...
The Nigerian police must be reformed and decentralized to an extent, my point is for balance ...

APCNig:
State Police is the solution to insecurity in the country.

Once States have their own Police, then if they like, let them allow Bandits, Kidnappers and Armed Robbers overrun their respective states

Yes i agree, but my concern is, what level of autonomy should state government have on their respective police departments?

madridguy:
Say no to State Police.

Charge your state governors, they're the chief security of each states, let them start spending their security votes instead of looting it.

Security votes is not to blame, how much is the so-called security votes sef...

State Policing must be rolled out in Nigeria, but it must be done carefully and in a balanced way, we must decentralize but not grant complete autonomy to the states

Although there are a lot of advantages that comes with state police. The most important is that it brings policing closer to the people. We can only enjoy this and other advantages of state police if our states can fund it adequately and if we’ve decided to shun nepotism.

Many people would believe adequate funding alone would guarantee a successful state policing. But the truth is, nepotism poses a greater threat to the success of state policing than funding.

You would understand better if you have had issues in a new state that you visited and you had issues with some indigenes which necessitated that you involve the police, only for the accused indigenes and the officers on duty to start speaking in the indigenous language of the said state, leaving you in total confusion.

No Governor or stooge will lose elections with state police.

If you know how much our governors are making monthly you won't be saying how much is the security votes.

Minsk24:

Security votes is not to blame, how much is the so-called security votes sef...

State Policing must be rolled out in Nigeria, but it must be done carefully and in a balanced way, we must decentralize but not grant complete autonomy to the states

ILoveNG:
Although there are a lot of advantages that comes with state police. The most important is that it brings policing closer to the people. We can only enjoy this and other advantages of state police if our states can fund it adequately and if we’ve decided to shun nepotism.

Many people would believe adequate funding alone would guarantee a successful state policing. But the truth is, nepotism poses a greater threat to the success of state policing than funding.

You would understand better if you have had issues in a new state that you visited and you had issues with some indigenes which necessitated that you involve the police, only for the accused indigenes and the officers on duty to start speaking in the indigenous language of the said state, leaving you in total confusion.

This is very true, and u must also factor in the heterogeneity of some states in Nigeria, even now, during elections, there is power tussle between ethnic groups in the state, now if there is complete autonomy to state governors over state police, i fear it may be weaponized ...

ednut1:
No Governor or stooge will lose elections with state police.

Very True

madridguy:
If you know how much our governors are making monthly you won't be saying how much is the security votes.

Lol, is the security votes more than nigeria defence spending? The policing issue in Nigeria is not just only due to lack of funding, there are structural issues which only constitutional and internal (police) reforms can sort out...

My opinion is a capital letter N O, NO.

fergie001:
My opinion is a capital letter N O, NO.

Why?

The biggest treat to democracy today in Nigeria are the governors and not the presidency as most of us have been brain washed to believe. For a start do you as a resident of your state know how much comes into your state and how it is spent?

In addition to their Federal Allocation and IGRs, they have crippled the LGAs, pocketing their monthly allocations in the process.

Giving them state police is empowering them to continue the criminality.

Accountability first...

Minsk24:

Why?

You have Governors who already are Emperors. They cannot account for the millions they corner as Security votes.
Millions of naira.... We have Governors who have taken over the Assembly, Judiciary and LGAs in their States and you want to hand over State Police over to these Emperors.

Abeg ... What will happen to opposition voices? Let the Govs grant LG, Assembly and Judicial autonomy, perhaps we might start believing them.

Again, they have to stop them to fire whomever is Commissioner of Police at will, and the PSC will have to draw up stringent conditions on working relationships between the State Govt & the Police.

fergie001:
You have Governors who already are Emperors. They cannot account for the millions they corner as Security votes.
Millions of naira.... We have Governors who have taken over the Assembly, Judiciary and LGAs in their States and you want to hand over State Police over to these Emperors.

Abeg ... What will happen to opposition voices? Let the Govs grant LG, Assembly and Judicial autonomy, perhaps we might start believing them.

Again, they have to stop them to fire whomever is Commissioner of Police at will, and the PSC will have to draw up stringent conditions on working relationships between the State Govt & the Police.

Hmmm, your points are very valid, this means there should be a wide range of constitutional reforms that will pave way for any tangible police reforms