Agbaje Makes Case For Creation Of State Police

A former gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic People’s Alliance (DPA) in the 2007 governorship election in Lagos State, Jimi Agbaje, has expressed support for the creation of state police, saying the current security crisis in the country is too much for the federal police alone to handle.

He also said certain states have their laws, which only their own police can enforce since the federal police also have their defined roles and responsibilities.

Agbaje, a pharmacist in a chat with journalists, however, said that only states that have the resources to fund state police should be allowed to create it.

He disagreed with those who said the creation of state police will lead to the collapse of federal police, adding that like in other countries, there will be demarcation of duties with each one carrying out its role.

“The reality is that you cannot have a federal police policing the entire country, it doesn’t work in a federal system. It is not effective, it is not sufficient and it is not just going to work. Don’t forget that there are some countries today where you have police, not even at a state level; you have them at local level.

“The idea is that you set laws at every level of governance. And when you set laws, there must be people to enforce the laws. So, the priority of the federal police will be different from that of the local police. If as the governor of a particular state, you set up a traffic law and you want the police to enforce that law, it may not be a priority of the federal police.

“Not every state government needs a state police if they know they do not have the resources to finance them. That is why in a federal system, there is no law that stipulates that every state must start with a state police. If you know you are not ready and you are comfortable with what you have, that is okay. But the truth is that you can have your state police once you are ready to shoulder the responsibility that comes with it” he said.

—Anthonia Ohiero