A former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chidi Odinkalu, has questioned the ongoing push for the creation of state police, arguing that the process lacks transparency and adequate public participation. Speaking on the proposed legislation, the law professor said the timing of the initiative was inappropriate, especially with the country approaching an election season. He also alleged that there are currently two different versions of the state police bill before the National Assembly, neither of which has been made available to the public for scrutiny. “We are talking about becoming the most fundamental power of the state in an election season. And we are talking about becoming the most significant power of the state without debate. “To this point, in fact, there are two different versions of the bill going to the National Assembly; an executive bill passed by the Senate and a different one passed by the House of Representatives. No citizen has seen those bills nor participated in the viewing, as citizens are entitled to do,” Odinkalu said. He also argued that the debate around state police confuses the roles of security agencies, noting that the police are responsible for law enforcement, while internal security falls under the mandate of the Department of State Services (DSS). Odinkalu further accused state governors of prioritising control of the police over strengthening justice institutions, alleging that police forces are often used to influence elections. “The police is a law enforcement institution. There is a difference in the Nigerian state between security and law. “The governors are not complaining that we should decentralize the DSS. They are complaining they should own the police. “These are governors who have never funded their Ministries of Justice. Now they will find money to give to police because police is used for illegal elections. They will not fund the Ministries of Justice, which are essential for putting away the criminals who endanger Nigerians. “And nobody there is talking about the funding of Ministries of Justice. Ask all of these governors who have gone away: how much have they spent on their Ministries of Justice in the past four years? It is on accounting for their fingers. But they are investing in the police, and they want us to believe that this is about how to protect the citizens,” he said.
The governors are not complaining that we should decentralize the DSS. They are complaining they should own the police.
