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The vice presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said the growing calls for the creation of state police are a consequence of the Nigerian government’s failure to effectively tackle insecurity, warning that such a system could be vulnerable to political abuse.
Kwankwaso made the remarks on Friday during an exclusive interview with News Central TV, where he argued that if the Nigerian government discharged its constitutional responsibility on security, there would be little need for state police.
“I believe that the issue of state police came as a result of government failure,” he said.
According to him, the worsening security situation has pushed Nigerians to seek alternative solutions.
“Government has failed in that area of insecurity or security. Therefore, people are looking for all options, either to solve the problem or for them to hide behind it. And of course, they go to the issue of state police.”
Drawing from his experience as a former Minister of Defence and former Governor of Kano State, Kwankwaso maintained that he does not support the establishment of state police under a properly functioning federal system.
“In my opinion, state police is as a result of that failure,” he said.
“As former Minister of Defence and former Chief Security Officer of Kano State for eight years, I don’t believe that state police is necessary. That is, if the federal government is doing its job.”
He stressed that Nigeria’s security challenges have gone beyond the debate over state policing and require a comprehensive response from the Nigerian government, with support from state authorities.
“Now, the level of insecurity as it stands today has passed the level of the issue of state police,” he said.
“The federal government would have looked at the issue comprehensively, do the right thing, and the state governments would complement their efforts. We have seen it in the past. It worked really well. But over the years, certainly there are some obvious failures. And that’s what brought this issue of state police.”
Kwankwaso also warned that state police could be manipulated by governors for political purposes.
“There are so many dangers associated with state police,” he said.
“The governors, my former colleagues, would want to use them for political protection in their various states. That will not augur well for everybody, including them, because today you are a governor, tomorrow you’ll be a former governo, like my humble self.”
He further argued that state-controlled police forces could be deployed to influence elections.
“They will actively or effectively use the state police for elections.
“And that is why now I think they are rushing to get the law and, of course, start recruiting people,” he said.
Kwankwaso also raised concerns about the proliferation of weapons, recalling his tenure as Minister of Defence, when he chaired a national committee responsible for recovering illegal arms.
“I remember when I was Minister of Defence, I was the chairman of a committee that was mopping the small arms across the country,” he said.
“It is not in anybody’s interest for government to allow too many arms and ammunitions around the country, especially in the hands of the general public.”
