Zamfara State has faced one of the worst banditry crises in northern Nigeria, with wide cases of dehumanisation and degradation of its citizens through kidnappings, killings, robberies, and mass displacement of villagers. Many citizens have protested in Gusau, the state capital, accusing leaders of failing to protect them. Recently the Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, became emotional as he narrated how residents suffer repeated attacks while security operatives delay because they are waiting for clearance from the federal government. He recalled one incident in Shinkafi Local Government Area where bandits attacked and security forces refused to move without instructions from Abuja.
Unfortunately, the delay of the security operatives, in the face of repeated attacks on residents of Zamfara State, because they are waiting for clearance from the federal government, is constitutional, and this is absurd. For the avoidance of doubt, the Constitution allows the existence of only one police force which is under the control of the federal government – the President, Minister of Police Affairs, and the Inspector-General of Police, and this police force cannot obey the instructions of a governor of a state except the force gets clearance from the federal authorities listed above.
According to Sections 214(1) and 215 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, there shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and no other police force shall be established for the federation or any part thereof. There shall be an Inspector-General of Police who shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving members of the Nigeria Police Force, and a Commissioner of Police for each state of the Federation who shall be appointed by the Police Service Commission. The Nigeria Police Force shall be under the command of the Inspector-General of Police and contingents of the Nigeria Police Force stationed in a state shall, subject to the authority of the Inspector-General of Police, be under the command of the Commissioner of Police of that state. The President or such other Minister of the Government of the Federation as he may authorise in that behalf may give to the Inspector-General of Police such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order as he may consider necessary, and the Inspector-General of Police shall comply with those direction or cause them to be compiled with. The governor of a state or such commissioner of the government of the state as he may authorise in that behalf, may give to the Commissioner of Police of that state such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order within the state as he may consider necessary, and the Commissioner of Police shall comply with those directions or cause them to be complied with, provided that before carrying out any such directions, the Commissioner of Police may request that the matter be referred to the President or such Minister of the Government of the Federation as may be authorised in that behalf by the President for his directions.
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As can be seen from the above, the power of the Commissioner of Police to obey orders from the Governor is made subject to the power of the Inspector-General of Police and the federal government. To worsen the matter for the Governor of a State in Nigeria, the courts are not allowed to inquire into whether any, and if so what directions have been given to the Commissioner of Police by the federal government. (See section 215(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended). This means that the President, Minister, or the IGP has the right by law to accept, reject, or delay the governor’s instructions to the Commissioner of Police to act against the bandits, kidnappers, or terrorists, and the governor cannot seek redress in a court of law to enforce it. Therefore, it’s the federal government that has the blame for any security lapse in any part of Nigeria. Dele Alake, the then Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State under then Governor Bola Tinubu, once told President Obasanjo that he, Obasanjo, did not have the power to declare a state of emergency in Lagos State during the regime of Governor Bola Tinubu because the responsibility of the security of Lagos State and its citizens rests squarely on the President of Nigeria. He was right.
The Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, vowed, in the name of the Almighty Allah, that he can wipe out banditry in the state within two months if he is given control over the security agencies. The governor explained that he knows the exact places where the bandits hide. But he cannot act because security officers in Zamfara take orders only from Abuja. Governor Lawal said: “I swear to Almighty Allah, wherever a bandit leader is in Zamfara State, I know it. If he goes out, I know. With my phone, I can show you where they are today. But we cannot do anything beyond our powers. Most of the time, I shed tears for my people, because I see the problem but I cannot order the security men to act in time. If today I have the power to give orders to the security agencies, I can assure you, we will end banditry in Zamfara within two months.”
This lamentation will be a thing of the past if State Police is created by the Constitution and the governor takes full command of the force. It’s disheartening that these governors provide the logistics for the federal police to function in their states, yet they do not have authority to command the forces to obey them. Lawal explained that despite not having direct control, his government has been supporting security efforts. He said 150 patrol vehicles were shared among the Police, Army, DSS and Civil Defence. He condemned the politicisation of insecurity and declared that the insecurity is not hurting him as a person; it is destroying Zamfara State. Of course insecurity does not affect any governor who is guarded by hundreds of security operatives and drives sometimes in bulletproof vehicles. It’s ordinary Nigerians who are paying the price for this lack of state police.
More than 500 persons were roasted in Benue State by terrorists, prompting Gov Alia of Benue to tearfully declare: “Benue is bleeding.” Plateau State lost hundreds of its citizens to horrific terrorists attacks. Many innocent worshippers were massacred in their worship centres in Katsina State and so on. The whole nation is bleeding. Nigeria ranks poorly in the Global Peace Index (147th out of 163) and Global Terrorism Index (8th globally in 2024). Indeed, criminals have intimidated us enough. Even President Tinubu has expressly mouthed the need for State police when he was confronted with the realities of insecurity in Nigeria. He said: “I am reviewing all the aspects of security; I have to create a state police. We are looking at that holistically. We will defeat insecurity. We must protect our children, people, livelihood, places of worship, and recreational spaces. They can’t intimidate us.”
The argument that governors will abuse the state police can no longer hold water. Some opine that some state governors will use the state police to intimidate political opponents. While acknowledging that this could happen, this is not unique to state police. Some powerful political figures in some states have used the federal police to intimidate some governors, and some governors have used the federal police to intimidate some political opponents in their states. Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State was kidnapped and falsely imprisoned for some hours, while his resignation was purportedly read on the floor of the state House of Assembly, in an apparent coup d’etat against his government. The political actors that dethroned him used the instrumentality of the federal police to carry out this act. An Assistant Inspector General of Police was eventually used as a scapegoat to assuage the cry of Nigerians over the brazen act of intimidating a sitting governor.
Democracy implies that there are inherent mechanisms to resolve disputes, and these mechanisms will be deployed to solve disputes that may arise in the likely event of any governor abusing state police under his command. Victims can seek redress under the law. The federal police can be deployed at any time to subdue any errant state police that is going beyond its powers. The fear, therefore, that state police will be abused may not be substantial to deny its establishment now. Moreover, when compared with the abuse Nigerians get everyday from the bandits, kidnappers, terrorists, insurgents, secessionist agitators, without the possibility of any victim seeking or getting any compensation in law, the establishment of state police is imperative.
The Constitution must be amended now to accommodate state police. However, the power to make laws to regulate the state police should be domiciled with the National Assembly. It will be clumsy to have more than 36 different laws regulating state police. The citizens may not understand the laws guiding Police activities in each state. With one law guiding the state police, we will have 36 different voices but one gun in the management of the maintenance of law and order in Nigeria. My doubt is that Tinubu is not sincere to support state police before the 2027 election so that the All Progressives Congress will use the instrumentality of federal police to intimidate and manipulate the 2027 elections. If Tinubu is serious on state police today, he will get it today owing to the firm grip he has on the legislature and the consensus of all the governors on the matter. Nigeria has bled enough. No sensible nation politicises the issue of security.
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