FCT should not be excluded from state police – ex-DIG Adeoye

In this interview with SOLOMON ODENIYI, retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Adedayo Adeoye, argues that state police should be controlled by governors and that the Federal Capital Territory should be included in the arrangement, among other recommendations

Do you think Nigeria is ripe for state police?

The country cannot be secure without state police. All over the democratic world, state, local government and even community policing are in vogue. So, for us to be fully secure in this nation, there must be state police. There is no reason why Nigeria is practising democracy and not practising state policing. State policing is grassroots policing as it leads to a better understanding of the people, as far as their culture, language and customs are concerned. I say this based on my experience in the Nigeria Police Force. If I had been made the Inspector-General of Police in 2007–2009, the issue of state policing would have been a foregone conclusion. It wouldn’t have been delayed until now because it was part of the agenda I wanted to sell to the President at that time. Unfortunately, I was not picked as IG.

What safeguards should be built into the proposed state police system to prevent governors from using the police against political opponents, journalists or critics?

Well, we cannot, 100 per cent, rule that out. But we should have an amended Constitution to take care of that. Secondly, we need an independent judiciary that can intervene when there is any constitutional issue between the Commissioner of Police and the state government, as we cannot rely on the House of Assembly. The House of Assembly is a rubber stamp for the governors.

Would you support state police being controlled directly by governors, or should there be an independent state policing commission?

Yes, state police should be controlled by the governors, since they are the chief security officers of their states. But the Police Service Commission and the judiciary should always adjudicate where there is a disagreement between the governor and the police.

Who should appoint and remove state Commissioners of Police under a state police arrangement?

The chief security officer of a state should be the one to appoint and remove the Commissioner of Police and recommend to the service commission for final approval. I recommend one Police Service Commission for all the states as well as the federal police. The commission will handle cases for officers, while the CP will do that for other ranks and files and inspectors. I want it to be in line with what the National Judicial Council is presently doing.

How can the Federal Government and state police avoid clashes over jurisdiction, particularly when a crime crosses state boundaries?

The laws are there. We have the criminal laws; we have the penal laws. These laws separate the powers or the authority of both the federal and the state. The federal government should not interfere at all in whatever is called a state offence. The state, too, should not dabble in whatever is a federal offence. If there are cases involving two or more states, the Police Service Commission should direct on what to do. In most cases, there should be a joint investigation panel.

Some governors propose the adoption of an existing security outfit for state police. Do you agree with that?

No, we should not do that. The job of a policeman is not carrying a rifle or going to stand guard in the homes of government officials. They are trained on how to salute, participate in parades and also handle rifles. But the police job is more than that. The police conduct investigations in serious cases, gather intelligence, among others. However, some of them can be converted to forest guards and mining guards. Some of them can be retrained and absorbed into the Nigeria Police Force.

Should FCT be excluded from the state police?

That is very wrong. I thought there was a Supreme Court judgment that said or recognised the FCT as a state. Why should it be tied to the apron strings of the Federal Government now? By now, the FCT is supposed to be run by a mayoralty. If you look at the size and the population of the FCT, it is even bigger than some of the states in the federation.

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What should be the minimum requirement and training standard for state police officers?

The minimum qualifications should be SSCE for recruits. Then, a first degree or HND for cadet officers. And all the training schools we have should be run jointly by all the states.

How should the state police be funded?

First, the police generally should be funded from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and not from budgetary allocations. Second, the national revenue allocation formula should be revised entirely so that no state is short of funds for policing. If state governments wish to, they can supplement what they receive from the Federal Government using their security vote. Currently, some governors simply use their security votes for other things outside security.

What mechanisms should be put in place to ensure accountability when state police officers abuse their power?

There is an existing system of punishment in the police. For the rank and file, we have orderly room trials. For commissioned officers, queries are issued. If a query cannot be adequately handled by the Commissioner of Police, it is forwarded to the Police Service Commission for final adjudication. This is how it should be handled. In fact, investigating human rights violations and similar issues should be the primary duty of the Police Service Commission.

What lessons can Nigeria learn from countries operating federal or decentralised policing systems?

We need to learn from these countries: Canada, India, Britain and Singapore. Those countries are repositories of knowledge on practical policing, so we should adopt their best practices. Additionally, we need high-quality instructors in our police training institutions. Currently, a major problem in police training institutions is that officers are often posted there as punishment. However, there are few who are posted on merit. Abroad, it is different. I attended courses in Britain three times before I retired, and they send their best personnel to training institutions, including retired officers with better incentives. To summarise, we must deploy our active officers and experienced retired officers to training roles. In Britain, many instructors were retired officers or officers approaching retirement who were retained to train others while receiving their full salaries and allowances.

Furthermore, personnel in training schools should be valued more. They should receive higher allowances and faster promotion. A former Inspector-General of Police attempted this when I served as his Principal Staff Officer, and the initiative was effective, but subsequent leadership failed to sustain it.

The current IGP recently mentioned that several former IGPs have expressed concerns regarding the implementation of state police. How should that resistance be addressed?

Have you ever seen a king who wants his empire dismantled? No, they would never want that. Were it not for the President’s insistence, the current IGP would have opposed state police as well. They have no choice but to align with the Federal Government. Naturally, no former IGP would favour a reform that renders their former office moribund. Under a decentralised system, operational authority shifts directly to Commissioners of Police at the state and federal levels. Decentralised systems in Europe and America do not utilise an IGP structure. We may no longer need the ranks of IGP, DIG or AIG. Each state command would be headed directly by a Commissioner of Police, and federal departments would likewise be headed by CPs.

Administrative coordination would shift to the Ministry of Police Affairs, staffed by directors.

Would those directors be uniformed officers or civilians?

They should be civilians. However, the positions could be filled by retired or active police officers who wish to work in an administrative capacity. It should not be mandatory for them to wear uniforms. Active officers with expertise in specific administrative areas could be deployed to the Ministry of Police Affairs or the Police Service Commission, where their experience would be far more useful. Finally, the government should not allow all state police officers to wear uniforms. Only general-duty officers should wear uniforms, and their salaries should not be the same. The non-general-duty officers should not be allowed to wear uniforms; they should be employed as civilians and be paid as civil servants. This will reduce the cost of policing in the states.