Eminent professor of Law Itse Sagay on Thursday cautioned that governors should not have absolute powers over state police.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said the caution became necessary to prevent abuses.
He said while he had always advocated state police creation, there must be effective checks to ensure that the purpose is not defeated.
Reacting to the governors’ consent for state police, Sagay told The Nation: “I’ve always advocated state police, given the size of the country, but the advocacy is in principle.
“Like El-Rufai, I see some underlying dangers. Without mentioning names, there are one or two governors who have private militias that can confront the Federal Government to a standstill without state police.
“For instance, those states where elections are never concluded; they reschedule elections and they end in violence – those governors raise private armies to counter federal police and the federal army. They kill soldiers.
“What happens if such governors have state police in addition? That’s my only fear; otherwise the principle is good for federalism.”
On how to prevent such abuses, Sagay advised that the power to control state police should not be vested solely in governors.
He said: “That is what they have to think about carefully. There should be some form of control over state police outside the sole command of the governors.
“They should think of some form of independent control so that directives will not just be issued by the governors alone.
“If that can be done, it will be better. But we need state police; just that it may be abused by a few who are very militant and aggressive in the way they deal with matters.”
The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Chairman believes there is something to learn from advanced countries that operate state police with limited jurisdictions.
He said: “The state police will deal basically with those who commit crimes in the states. But when the crime is complex or the level of violence is excessive, the federal police can always step in to assist.
“If the crime is cross-boundary, it becomes a federal police issue.”
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