Amid the increasing demand for an efficient and responsive policing system, the Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, on Monday, lamented the dysfunctionality of the Nigeria Police, pointing out that as currently constituted, the Police was not properly established to succeed in the country.

Senator Bamidele, who is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, further observed that any police structure that did not reflect Nigeria’s federal realities would not effectively address the roots of security challenges facing the country.

He made these remarks at the 2024 Distinguished Personality Lecture Series jointly organised by the Department of Political Science and Institute of Legislative Studies, University of Ilorin, Kwara State.

The lecture, titled “Constitutional Amendment and the Political Dynamics of State Police in Nigeria,” was chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, who was represented by Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Oyelola Ashiru.

At the lecture were the Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Saliu Mustapha; Chairman, Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, Senator Sadiq Umar; Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Akintunde Yunus; Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Egbewole (SAN) and Director General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Prof. Abubakar Suleiman.

Speaking at the session, Senator Bamidele dissected diverse socio-economic and political forces responsible for the dysfunctionality of the Nigeria Police and reeled out antidotes to the problems of policing in Nigeria.

While warning against the incessant deployment of the armed forces without compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Bamidele faulted the undue establishment and operations of vigilante groups and security outfits at the state levels without national legal framework.

Senator Bamidele explained that the incessant deployment of the armed forces for the purpose of maintaining law and order internally was at variance with their mandate under the 1999 Constitution and did not portray Nigeria as a truly democratic and internally stable democracy.

The Senate Leader observed that the challenges facing the Nigeria Police “are numerous. How the police are organised, managed, governed and funded can determine its ability to deliver on its constitutional mandate of protecting the life and property of Nigerians.

“Understanding these dynamics can help in appreciating what needs to be done to improve security in the country. It is clear that Nigerians do not fully appreciate the depth and scale of the challenges facing the police.

“I maintain that the Police have not been set up properly to succeed in this nation. Effective policing in Nigeria is almost impossible unless there are fundamental changes. Indeed, the constraints faced by the Police are used as excuses for various misconducts and unprofessional behaviours by many officers of the force.

“Despite many attempts by the leadership of the Nigeria Police to enforce discipline and even sack bad eggs, operational misconduct is still prevalent in the ranks of police operatives, and this undermines their capacity to decisively respond to pervasive insecurity nationwide.”

He further argued that the regular deployment of the Nigeria Armed Forces across the federation was, no doubt, an indication that the present police structure could no longer address the present security challenges of our nation.

To correct these anomalies, the Senate Leader canvassed the adoption of decentralised policing model to address a myriad of security challenges currently undermining the country’s internal cohesion and disincentivizing investors from coming into the country.

Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says the commission has no constitutional power to conduct local council elections except in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Prof. Yakubu said this on the sidelines of a two-day induction retreat for INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), on Monday in Lagos.

Reacting to the agitation seeking constitutional backing for INEC to be saddled with the responsibility of conducting local council elections, Prof Yakubu described it as ‘a constitutional matter’.

According to Prof Yakubu, unless necessary constitutional amendments are made, the commission will only continue to organise national and state elections.

“The same section of the constitution that establishes INEC also establishes the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) and we cannot take over their duties.

“It is good for people to engage in advocacy for INEC to take charge of the whole elections, but the constitution has to be amended for that to happen.

“For now, INEC can only conduct the local government elections in the Federal Capital Territory with six area council chairmen and 62 councillors.

“And it is in the FCT that the conduct of council elections has been regular and we are proud that the conduct of the elections there has been done to the best of our capacity.

“So, we are encouraged by what we have done, but as for taking over the state elections, the constitution has to be amended, and we are not there yet,’’ he said.

There are reports that some Nigerians are canvassing for the dissolution of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) in the ongoing constitutional amendment, to pave way for INEC to take charge of local government elections.

The proponents believe that state governors were hijacking local councils’ allocation due to irregularities in the conduct of the LG polls.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had in March this year called for the scrapping of SIECs.

Mr Fagbemi said that SIEC’s function should be transferred to INEC, to ensure independence and transparency in the outcome of local government elections in the country.

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has condemned the suicide attacks in Gwoza, Borno State, describing it as the “evil works of formidable enemies who take advantage of government’s lack of proactive actions to wreak havoc on innocent Nigerians”.

In a statement signed by CUPP’s National Spokesperson, Comrade Mark Adebayo, the coalition said, ” It is with a deep sense of grief that we received the news of the suicide bombings in Gwoza, Borno state, that led to multiple fatalities. This is the horrendous and evil works of formidable enemies of humanity who take advantage of government’s lack of proactive actions and ineffective intelligence to wreck consistent havocs on innocent citizens.

“Over the years, it has become clear that the war against terror has been compromised by all those involved in dealing with the menace with the government having no answers to the challenges posed by the terrorists that have been ravaging many parts of the country. The corruption enterprise surrounding the war efforts and absence of creative ideas on the part of government and the consistent failure of intelligence have contributed significantly to strengthening of the various terrorist groups terrorizing the country for about two decades now.

“We commiserate with the people of Borno State, particularly our dear people of Gwoza, over this terrible tragedy and pray that God grant them a quick healing process. Once again, the Federal Government has come out with empty assurances for the people boasting that it would fish out and punish perpetrators of the crimes. As always, nothing will come out of these vague assurances and promises as the cycle of violence continues unabated.

“This government lacks any real strategic security plans to protect the citizens and save the country from these terrorists who have grown to disdain our security forces overtime. The government needs to be serious in its war against terrorism by developing ingenious tactical stratagem to tackle the menace head-on.”