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IGP wants NSCDC and FRSC as departments in Nigeria Police Force

Egbetokun said Nigeria is not ripe for state police

The Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun has recommended merging the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to form departments in the Nigeria Police Force, rather than establishing state police.

Egbetokun spoke at a one-day dialogue on state policing, themed, ‘Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria’ on Monday. The dialogue was organised by the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas.

IGP Egbetokun, who was represented by Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Ben Okolo, said the country was not ripe for state police because it would be abused by state governors..

“On the issue of state police, it is the submission of the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) that Nigeria is not yet mature and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police,” the IGP said.

He said the establishment of state police will also lead to multiple command structures in the states, adding that “State governors could use the police forces under their control for political or personal gain and undermine human rights and security. There would also be a conflict of jurisdiction.”

He said state governments lacked the required funding that would give birth to the type of policing that the nation requires.

He also said there was the need for a yearly recruitment of about 30,000 police personnel into the Force annually to meet the UN requirements for modern policing, while also increasing annual budgetary allocation to the Force.

The dialogue is part of deliberations on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (alteration) bill 2023 (Establishment of State Police) sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu and 13 others.

The bill was designed to improve public safety and strengthen law enforcement in Nigeria by decentralising the police. The proposal in the bill provides for state police alongside the federal police and outlines a constitutional framework for states that choose to establish and maintain their service.

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