STATE POLICE: Falana offers solution to stem abuse by governors

Lagos lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, on Monday volunteered suggestions to guard against abuse of the much advocated state police forces in the country.

He called for the establishment of state police service councils in states of the Federation.

The Senior Advocate also revealed how a senior police officer led the killer squad of a former Governor in the Southwest geopolitical zone of the country.

Falana, who spoke at the University of Ibadan as a guest speaker at the first memorial lecture in honour of late Professor Olumuyiwa Awe, held at the Trenchard Hall of the university, said a police officer, who was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the governor, led the killer squad.

Though he failed to mention the name of the ex-governor, Falana said the killer squad was responsible for the assassination of a World Bank expert.

According to him, several citizens were killed by the squad, while all efforts to prosecute the culprits were frustrated.

He also lamented that the situation is the same in several states, adding that it was this kind of abuse that has made many Nigerians averse to the creation of state police.

Noting that the fears expressed by Nigerians against state police are genuine, especially the likelihood of abuse by state governors, Falana said state police forces can be fashioned in such a way that their management can be democratic, so as to insulate them from abuse by politicians.

He further said that a state police service council of five members, with representatives from the state government, labour, women, youths and the business community could be put in place to oversee the affairs of the state police forces.

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He said: “Many citizens are opposed to the creation of state police for the fear that it may be used to haunt political opponents of some state governors. I know a state governor in the South-West who once had a killer squad headed by his Chief Security Officer, a police officer.

“One of the unarmed citizens mowed down by the illegal squad was a World Bank expert. All efforts to prosecute the suspects have been frustrated by the state government. The story is the same in a few other states in the country. To that extent the fear of the possible manipulation of state police is genuine.

“To avoid a situation whereby abuse of police powers is decentralized, any security service established by state governments should be democratically controlled. The service will be founded by the state governments and superintended by an independent state police council of five members. The members of the council should be accredited representatives of the state government, labour, women, youths and the business community.

“The service will police the state and see to the enforcement of all the laws enacted by the House of Assembly. The success of the civilian Joint Task Force in the counter-insurgency operations in Borno State has proved that the best way to police a country is to recruit, train and equip young men and women to operate in their own communities.

“The colonial practice of posting police personnel to operate outside their states or regions was meant to suppress and intimidate colonial subjects by strangers. It is a practice which has become counter-productive in a post-colonial state. Every police officer should operate in their community, speak the local language and mix freely with the people.”

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