Senate Leader explains why Nigeria Police Force cannot succeed

• The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has explained why the Nigeria Police Force has not been effective
• Senator Bamidele said effective policing is almost impossible unless there are fundamental changes
• The vice chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution said the police have not been set up properly to succeed

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro and government policy

Ilorin, Kwara state - The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) was not properly set up and founded to succeed in the country.

Bamidele said any police structure that did not reflect Nigeria’s federal realities would not effectively address the roots of security challenges facing the federation.

Bamidele says effective policing is almost impossible unless there are fundamental changes Photo credit: @mob_sen_leader/@PoliceNG
Source: Twitter

As reported by Daily Trust, he stated this at the 2024 Distinguished Personality Lecture Series on Monday, July 1.

The lecture was jointly organised by the Department of Political Science and the Institute of Legislative Studies, University of Ilorin, Kwara state.

The vice chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution lamented the dysfunctionality of the Nigeria Police, Vanguard reports.

“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 its 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.”

"Nigeria not ripe for state police," says IGP Egbetokun

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, said at the moment, state governments do not have the financial wherewithal to create a police force that will meet national standards.

IGP Egbetokun also opined that creating state police will bring about divided loyalty apart from the claim that some governors will use the police in their domains for political interests

However, Dr Abubakar Sani, a security expert, disagreed with the IGP, saying he strongly believes that only the federal police is incapable of properly policing the country.

Source: Legit.ng