State police no longer an option; challenge is how to make it work — Ex-CDS

Nigeria's former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has urged a shift in the national conversation surrounding state police. He argues that the focus should move beyond the question of whether Nigeria needs such a system to how it can be effectively implemented.

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The challenge before us is no longer whether state police should exist, but how to ensure that we create an effective, professional and trusted law enforcement institution.

Speaking at an Arise News Town Hall in Abuja, Irabor addressed concerns that state police could devolve into a replication of past failed models or become private armies. He emphasized that the core challenge lies in establishing a professional, accountable, and trusted policing system that avoids the pitfalls of the current federal model.

Irabor clarified that the distinction between federal and state police is primarily about command and control, not necessarily about recruiting officers from local areas. He pointed out that police formations already exist at various levels, and the key is to determine where operational authority should reside to ensure faster and more effective responses to local security threats.

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The real difference between the existing federal police system and a state police structure is command and control. It is about determining where operational authority should reside so that responses are faster, more effective and better suited to local security challenges.

He cautioned against viewing decentralization as a panacea for Nigeria's policing issues. Irabor stressed the need for a comprehensive review of the existing federal police system, examining its logistics, equipment, training, and organizational structure. The lessons learned from this review, he stated, should inform the design of any future state police arrangement, which would also require robust institutional safeguards and common training standards.

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Unless we honestly address those underlying problems, we risk replicating the same weaknesses in any new state police structure.