DAUNTING SECURITY CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA. CREATION OF STATE POLICE AS ELIXIR
Keywords:
Dauting, security challenges, creation, national security, State Police, Nigeria, Australia.Abstract
In Nigeria, the police are managed and governed by the federal government. It runs a single police force. Nigeria does not have a state police. Due to the severe security issues that plague the Nigerian federation, including armed banditry, kidnappings, sectarian unrest, conflicts between herdsmen and pastoralists, theft of crude oil, and a host of other issues, scholars have criticized lack of state police in Nigeria. Nigeria practices federalism, which calls for the normal devolution of authority to its federating states. The states should have some degree of jurisdiction over security-related issues on their territory. This article asserts unequivocally that state police should be established in the Nigerian federation to complement the functions of the federal police. In Australia, there is state and federal police. The establishment of state police will significantly aid in reducing the daunting security difficulties now faced by the Nigerian federation because the states are more accessible to the populace than the federal government.