Creation Of Nigeria State Police May Cost N813Billion Over Five Years –Committee Report
Creation Of Nigeria State Police May Cost N813Billion Over Five Years –Committee Report
The eight-member committee, chaired by Olu Ogunsakin, Director-General of the National Institute of Police Studies, was inaugurated on March 4 and directed to produce an operational framework for the proposed system within one month.
Nigeria’s proposed state police structure will begin recruiting its first officers in the second year of a five-year transition plan, while operational deployment is scheduled for the third year.
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According to a report submitted by a police reform committee, prepared by the Steering Committee on the Establishment of State Police, set up by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, NAN reports.
The eight-member committee, chaired by Olu Ogunsakin, Director-General of the National Institute of Police Studies, was inaugurated on March 4 and directed to produce an operational framework for the proposed system within one month.
The committee was also tasked with designing plans for state policing to complement the federal police and improve internal security across the country.
It recommended a four-phase implementation structure lasting 60 months. Under phase one, covering months one to 12, the government would carry out constitutional amendments and enact a State Police Act.
Phase two, covering months 13 to 24, would focus on transfers and the enrolment of the first state police recruits. Phase three, from months 25 to 42, would see the deployment of officers and the takeover of local policing responsibilities by state commands.
Phase four, spanning months 43 to 60, would focus on consolidation as the federal police service is fully reorganised.
“It also requires the establishment of State Police Service Commissions and Ombudsman offices in every state,” the committee explained while outlining measures needed in the first phase.
The report added that states would need to build institutions from the ground up.
“Each state will be required to establish, from the ground up, a fully functional State Police service, including a service commission, an ombudsman office, community policing forums at the local government level, ICT infrastructure, custody suites and forensic linkages.”
“The National Police Standard Board (NPSB) must also be constituted, staffed, and made operational with inspection capacity across six zonal offices,” said the report.
The committee estimated implementation costs at between N589 billion and N813 billion over five years and said the timeline would allow for the movement of 273,648 officers, legal reforms, infrastructure development and uninterrupted public security.
