Abstract
Nigeria has undoubtedly in recent times been confronted with a myriad of security challenges. These challenges have persisted and thus become a source of concern and worry to both the government and the citizenry. The security of lives and property of all nations including Nigeria should be of paramount importance to any government, the sustenance of which may be daunting without the role of the police in a given polity. The Police is one institution of the state that plays a pivotal role in any
given society. Given the upsurge in security challenges and its abysmal management in Nigeria, it may be apt to state that the centralised system of policing and its attendant problems has failed. Also, the usurpation of the powers of state governors as chief security officers of their respective states has further intensified the call for state police. It is in view of the foregoing that the paper examines the need for state police which in the opinion of the paper will mitigate the current realities of insecurity in the country. It further argues that in order to achieve some semblance of security in Nigeria, there is need to decentralise the police force and empower State governments to have control over their security affairs which should however be done within the parameters of checks at the center to prevent abuse of power. Using the doctrinal approach of research, the paper discusses the meaning of state police, establishment and functions of the police, controversies trailing the creation of state police as well as the imperative of creating state police which is the core argument of the paper. The paper thereafter concludes with recommendations to ensure effective management of state police in Nigeria upon creation.
Keywords: State police, Decentralization, Centralization, Policing, Power