The Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Hashimu Salihu Argungu, has called for a comprehensive interrogation of the structural challenges confronting the Nigeria Police Force as the country intensifies deliberations on the creation of state police formations.
Argungu made the call in Abuja while receiving members of the Committee on the Implementation of State Police during a working visit to the Commission’s headquarters, where the delegation sought the Commission’s institutional insights and experience on policing reforms.
The committee, led by renowned academic Olu Ogunsakin, said the assignment before it was enormous and required drawing from the deep institutional memory of the PSC, given its statutory oversight of policing matters in the country.
Ogunsakin noted that the committee could not effectively execute its mandate without tapping into the knowledge base of the Commission, describing Argungu as a “fountain of knowledge” whose experience would be invaluable in shaping the framework for state policing.
Responding, Argungu delivered a detailed presentation outlining practical steps required for the successful implementation of state police, stressing that reform must begin with identifying the root causes behind the clamour for decentralised policing.
According to him, the committee must first investigate what went wrong within the existing policing architecture that triggered the nationwide demand for state police, and propose corrective measures that address those underlying issues.
He further urged the committee to critically examine the relationship between federal and state offences, stressing the need to properly distinguish between public and private wrongs within the evolving legal framework of modern governance.
The PSC chairman also warned that many existing laws governing policing were outdated and must be reviewed to align with contemporary realities of the 21st century before any new policing structure is introduced.
Argungu additionally advised the committee to understudy countries where state policing systems have recorded measurable success, analyse their operational challenges, and adapt relevant lessons to Nigeria’s peculiar security environment.
Present at the meeting were PSC board members including Paul Adamu Galumje, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court representing the judiciary; Taiwo Lakanu, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police representing the police; and the Commission’s Secretary, Onyemuche Nnamani, as the committee reaffirmed its commitment to developing a workable operational framework for state police covering recruitment, training standards and resource deployment.