Jonathan: Nigeria Not Ripe For State Police

Nnamdi Felix / Abuja

The national conference of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, commenced on Monday in Abuja, with the theme “Nigeria As Emerging Market: Redefining Our Laws And Politics For Growth.

It was attended by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and some state governors.

The event however recorded a very sharp decline in attendance from the usual large number of legal practitioners who normally attend the NBA conference.

While commenting on the unusual low turn out of lawyers at the event, the NBA President, Mr. Joseph Bodurin Daudu averred that the registration by just about 3000 legal practitioners signposts the association’s movement from the slogan, “the largest gathering of lawyers anywhere in the world” and the aspiration to be the “world’s most enlightened lawyers”.

In his remark at the event, President Jonathan, in response to ongoing calls for state police, stated that he, as then Deputy Governor of Bayelsa state, called for a state police at a time. ” As a Deputy Governor of Bayelsa state, there was a time when we were frustrated and we felt that we should have our police, that we would be able to manage criminality in our state better because of our local environment. Police from other parts of the country find it difficult to go into the waters, but for us who were born inside the water, even in the night we can enter ordinary canoe to go to anywhere and we feel that if we have our local police it will be better for us because our police can reach everywhere in our state”.

He however stated that when he discussed the issue of state police with former presidents before a state council meeting, they said it’s a good idea, that probably one day we’ll get there, and that is the emphasis I want to make, one day we’ll get to that point. But presently we have to be careful on how we go about it.

The President further stated that experiments were once made when the police came up with a policy that police officers from the rank of inspector and below should be posted to their states of origin as a way of testing whether police familiar with the environment will make changes, but it was realized that when police officers from the rank of inspector down were posted to their state of origin, it was worst off to manage the situation so the police had to discontinue that policy.

” We also feel that looking at the federal level and the way the governors are handling elections in their state with the state electoral commission, where opposition parties hardly win even councillorship elections, if there is state police and the governors manipulate their state police the way they are manipulating their state electoral commissions, the instability that it will create even what we are witnessing will be a child’s play”

Daudu commended President Jonathan for his disdain and intolerance for dodgy and fraudulent electoral process as well as his rejection of electoral violence or fraud during the last presidential election. He noted that the conduct of INEC during the last Presidential election in 2011 gave that election a lot of credibility.

However, on the vexed issue of state police, the out going NBA President departed from the position of President Jonathan who stated that the concept of state police is not bad but that the nation is not ripe for it. Daudu noted that apart from Terrorism, crimes like kidnapping, violent robberies, wanton murders, economic and financial crimes and other white collar crimes have become rampant in Nigeria.

He observed that law enforcement agencies are having a herculean task combating terrorists and other like minded criminals but that the establishment of state police will ensure proper security in the nation.

Daudu called for a monumental security reform noting that the nation is over ripe for state and community police.

According to Daudu, opponents of state police only cite one constraint which is that governors would use their respective state police tpo perpetuate their political interest in the run up to elections.

“Cogent as that misgiving may appear, it is not an obstacle to the proper policing that the state police will provide, it must be said outright that a police force is not created to for political objectives or for the sole benefit of politicians who are less than 2% of the population, a police force is created for the maintenance of law and order, to ensure free movement for the conduct of economic, social and cultural activities within the state, to deal with issues of border infiltration ny persons who do not have good intentios for the nation”

He also disagreed with the retired Inspectors General of Police who had kicked against state police and accused them of merely protecting their former office and their personal interest.

Meanwhile, aggrieved members of the NBA led by the executives of Ikeja Branch stormed the International Conference Center venue of the conference to protest the high conference fee charged by the Daudu led national executive.

Brandishing placards bearing messages like “NBA not a plc” among others, the protesters who were barred from entering the conference venue called for a reversal of the fee by the incoming administration headed by Okechukwu Wali, senior advocate of Nigeria.

Governors who graced the event are Adams Oshiomhole, Rochas Okorocha while Osun, Ekiti and Kwara states governors were represented.