By Adenike Ayodele: 07066467144
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), has thrown his weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s push for the establishment of state police across the country.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Lagos, Pedro said that the present centralised policing structure could no longer effectively tackle the growing wave of insecurity in Nigeria.
The A-G expressed support for the call by the president for a constitutional framework that would allow states willing and capable of funding their own police forces to do so.
According to him, many of the security challenges currently confronting Nigeria are localised crimes occurring within communities, especially in rural areas and require policing structures closer to the people.
“You will agree with me that the incidents that have increased the level of insecurity in Nigeria today, are enormous .
“Such as banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, human trafficking, ritual killings, cultism, herdsmen-farmer clashes, ethnic and communal conflicts, and armed robbery, are largely local crimes occurring in different communities,” he said.
Pedro explained that these crimes have persisted partly because the Nigeria Police, operating under a federal structure, is overstretched and unable to adequately respond to security demands across the country’s vast territory.
“These local crimes have festered because of the inadequacy of the Nigerian Police to check them.
“This clearly shows that a single federal police system cannot adequately respond to security needs across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and the various local government areas,” he said.
The Attorney-General noted that the rising wave of insecurity had further exposed what he described as the structural weaknesses of a centralised policing model in a diverse federal system like Nigeria.
He recalled that state and regional policing were not new to the country, noting that similar arrangements existed during Nigeria’s First Republic.
“I therefore support the call of Mr President for a proper constitutional framework for the establishment of state police for any state that wants it and can fund it,” he added.
Addressing concerns raised by critics, Pedro acknowledged fears that state governors might abuse state police for political or personal interests but insisted such concerns should not justify rejecting the initiative.
He proposed a unified policing structure integrating federal and state systems and suggested moving policing from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list through constitutional amendment.
According to him, clear guidelines on recruitment, promotion, discipline, structure, operational control and welfare should be established, alongside a clear demarcation of functions between federal and state police.
“What we need to do is to put in place a constitutional framework and safeguards that address these concerns.
“I believe that was the recent advice or request of President Tinubu to the National Assembly.
“If this is achieved, the insecurity in the country will be reduced to the nearest minimum,” Pedro said.
The A-G maintained that with the right legal and institutional safeguards, state policing could significantly strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture and bring policing closer to the communities it was meant to serve. (NAN) www.nannews.ng