By Ken Afor
Renowned political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, has backed the creation of State Police, amid the security challenges in the country.
Utomi, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, said that state police would be more effective when decentralised.
Utomi also advocated elimination of the constitutional clause that grants immunity to the president, governors, and their deputies, arguing that it has been extensively misused and should be abolished.
However, he proposed the establishment of a commission, tasked with assessing the merits of cases before a lawsuit could be filed against the president or governor, aiming to prevent frivolous litigation.
While making reference to the adoption of the model in the United States, Utomi, former vice chairman of the defunct Platinum-Habib Bank (Bank PHB), emphasised that the model is part of the process of decentralising authority in Nigeria.
He said: “I have always supported the idea of state police. I believe state police is a very important part of the process of decentralising authority in Nigeria.
“I live in a university town called Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States.The university has its own police (university police) that carry guns.
“When we go outside of the university campus, the town, the city of Bloomington, has its own police and they also carry guns.
“Then, the county in which Bloomington is located also has its county police force.There is also the Indiana state police. This model shows that policing is more effective when it is decentralised.”
While responding to opposing voices suggesting that the model could be hijacked by certain state governors for their own political motives, the former Special Assistant to the late President, Shehu Shagari, suggests implementing mechanisms to prevent abuse or manipulation by state governments if state police is adopted.
“What the Americans have done over the years to the so-called problem of local abuse of people’s rights by police is to ensure that wherever there is a problem relating to breach of rights, the FBI automatically steps in,” Utomi said.
“So that is how the Americans have tried to manage it. We can do the same. We cannot have effective security without a sub-national police force, he added.
The professor of Social and Political Economy, Environment of Business and Entrepreneurship at the Lagos Business School (LBS), Lagos, Nigeria, urged the nation to seize the ongoing constitution amendment process as a chance to embrace state police.
On immunity, Prof. Utomi said: “It (immunity) should, in principle, be removed, but we need a citizens’ jury (of highly placed citizens), which would be able to determine whether or not there is merit in pursuing issues against an incumbent.
“It is a double -edged sword. It has been abused very badly in Nigeria, making it problematic to continue.”
The African Democratic Party (ADC) presidential candidate in the 2007 elections, explained that if everyone were permitted to sue the president, governors and their deputies for every decision they make in their official capacities, it would significantly impede their ability to effectively carry out their duties.
“Therefore, that commission will have approving rights over whether a matter is of the nature that can cause the president or governor to be prosecuted or sued,” he said.
