INSECURITY AND THE QUEST FOR STATE POLICE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RESTRUCTURING DEBATE IN NIGERIA’S FOURTH REPUBLIC

Abstract

There has been a debate on the modality for the management of the Nigerian Police Force since the return to civil rule in  1999. The debate revolves around the need to devolve constitutional authority on policing to sub-national units. In theory, this will entail moving internal security issues, inclusive of policing, from the exclusive federal list to the concurrent list. Given the heighten insecurity that has plagued the Nigerian state in recent times, this paper examines the restructuring discourse in Nigeria with a specific focus on the call for the establishment of state police within the context of the subsidiarity principle. The study was contextualized within the exploratory research design paradigm and it adopted the qualitative approach in the sourcing and analysis of data. To this end, the paper has drawn information from published media reports that include: opinion, commentaries, editorials and news articles. Data was also sourced from published academic and policy publications that include: articles, chapter in books, books and government documents. Drawing on information from these sources, this paper assesses the positions of protagonists and antagonists of state police in Nigeria. It draws out implications for security governance in Nigeria.