STRUCTURING CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION IN A
FEDERAL STATE: PRIORITIES FOR NIGERIA
I am grateful to the Nigerian Bar Association for the opportunity
to speak at this conference. The topics and quality of resource
persons listed reflect a carefully thought out agenda setting
programme. I trust that beyond the conference, we will ensure
that practical steps are taken on reform proposals that are
suggested and adopted towards restructuring our criminal justice
system.
With the surge of brazen crimes - daylight kidnappings, wanton
destructions and murders by bombers as well as the high
incidence of unsolved high profile assassinations and the seeming
inability of our criminal justice system to bring criminals to
justice, we definitely must set about thinking and planning
strategies for improving the system otherwise we risk the
consequences of a failed state.
The major function of the state is social control, the protection of
lives and livelihoods, and general security in the community. In
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many ways the success of other human engagements in the
society largely depends on the extent of law and order, and or the
assurance of personal and corporate safety. The failure of the
criminal justice system is consequently a failure of the state itself.
Indeed one of the most reliable indicators of a failed state is a
criminal justice system that cannot deliver law and order.
It also affects the development of commerce- friendly justice
policy because an ineffective criminal justice system is a serious
disincentive to commerce. If terrorism by religious sects,
robberies and offences involving violence are rampant and
perpetrators are not being apprehended, tried, convicted because
of problems within the administration of justice system – cost of
doing
business
rises
for
both
local
&
foreign
investors.
Perceptions of foreign countries of the safety and security
situation in the nation are already negative even though many
would consider them exaggerated.
I will not attempt to catalogue all the challenges that still bedevil
our criminal justice system not just because
I believe most of us
here gathered are well aware of the problems and inefficiency of
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the system but also because a detailed critique of the Nigerian
Criminal Justice System will fill substantial volumes.
Rather,
within the context of structuring criminal justice administration in
a federal state, this paper will focus on making a case for state
run police and penitentiaries
PRIORITIES FOR NIGERIA: THE CASE FOR STATE RUN POLICE AND
PENITENTIARIES
The Criminal Justice System as currently structured has obviously
failed. I believe that decentralizing the Structure with greater
emphasis on a state run criminal justice system is imperative.
It is often said that crime is local- therefore the state’s response
to crime must be local. Several high profile homicide cases
remains unsolved, lack of intelligence on kidnappings and new
crimes such as suicide bombings show that there is evidently a
grave problem with the quality of police investigations.
The
reasons include inadequacy in terms of quality of human
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resources and expertise available for investigations, as well as
funding and necessary equipment.
However, the larger issue is with the structure of the police force
itself and the aberration of a centrally controlled police force in a
federation of over 140 million people. The operational and
management challenges of that arrangement are evident in the
chaotic state of the Nigerian Police. From the point of view of
effective coordination of the institutions of criminal justice, it is
evident that there is a problem where the chief law officer of the
state cannot determine how many police men he requires to keep
law and order.
Many of the delays in the criminal process are based on the
conflicts in priorities between the federal command of the police
and local needs and the transfer of investigating police officers
out of state without consultation with the state directorate of
public prosecution. Besides it would seem quite basic that
effective policing must be community-based, most criminal
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behavior is local. How can a Hausa speaking police officer from
Kano State be effective in detecting and investigating crimes as
DPO in a village in Abia state when he cannot speak or understand
the local dialect? The case for State police is one that has made
itself in so many ways. In that kind of arrangement there is ample
room for a Federal Police force as well, which deals with crossborder crimes, (both internal and external) Federal offences, and
collaborates with the local police in national assignments like
censuses and elections. With the State police, states can rather
like state judiciaries currently do, compete in innovation, reform
and standard setting.
There is very little doubt that without the use of forensic science
in criminal investigation, the most significant resources are simply
excluded! There can be no excuse today, for the non-use of the
broad range of criminalistics, i.e. the application of various
sciences in the gathering of evidence, which are the results of
examination and comparison of biological evidence. These include
Impression evidence, such as fingerprints, footwear impressions,
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tyre impressions and ballistics (scientific examination of firearms
and
ammunition).
Forensic
DNA
Analysis
is
also
quite
commonplace in many jurisdictions. That the Nigeria Police does
not have its own laboratories with the capacity of DNA Analysis is
regrettable indeed.
How about digital forensics? Which deals with the many scientific
methods
of
recovery
of data
from
electronic
and
digital
equipment? A great deal of these forensic resources is quite
affordable and the technology and training are easily accessible
today. Fingerprint technology is clearly not rocket science. It is
perhaps the oldest of the forensic technologies and had been
available in the Nigeria Police force for decades. It however fell
into disuse and along with the fact that no database of
fingerprints even of suspects or convicts exists. Without such data
bases, gathering fingerprint evidence is of limited use since there
is little to match what is gathered with. If a state considers these
as priority and can afford it, it will provide for it.
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No great intelligence is required to demonstrate that impunity
thrives in criminal behavior when there is no certainty of
detection and punishment. The wave of kidnappings, which
began in the Niger Delta, its victims usually being expatriates,
has now spread across the country.
In this year alone, 512
people have been kidnapped including fifteen young children in
Abia State and most recently 5 NYSC members in Rivers State.
Essentially, the spread of kidnapping is based on the successes
of the perpetrators in the Niger Delta and now everywhere else.
Much of the problem of Nigeria stem from our inability to
enforce our laws. Certainly, the challenge of organising an
effective force on a national basis is enormous. It has proved
virtually impossible. This is why the constitution of state run
penitentiaries and police force are necessary now more than
ever.
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The usual argument against this proposition is that it threatens
the corporate existence of the nation. While this fear is not
utterly baseless, it cannot be the reason to continue with a
structure that is obviously not working. Even now, state
governments overtly or tacitly back vigilante, militia and other
local Para-military forces. In my view, these organisations
portend even more danger for the corporate existence of the
nation, since they operate without any proper control or
structured training and they tend to clash with policemen for one
reason or another.
On the fear that state governments may abuse state police by
using it to intimidate and harass political opponents, and to
perpetuate electoral fraud, we must point out that same can be
done with more disastrous effect, by the federal government, as
was witnessed in the 3rd republic. It would also be recalled that
the misuse of federal police accounted for the rise of military type
bodyguard forces formed by some politicians to further their
personal interests.
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The proper use of a police force can only be guaranteed by
responsible governments, whether at a federal or state level. As
things are now, the Constitution has made several provisions to
ensure necessary checks and balances. With a State controlled
Police, law and order would be more effectively maintained within
the sate. The personnel of such a force would be better able to
contend with those problems. The issues that pose problems for
the corporate existence of Nigeria should be tackled at source, so
that every state feels a sense of belonging. Otherwise,
overwhelming problems may arise spurring the spontaneous
formation of ferocious groups, which have no responsible
leadership or control.
What State Police should entail is the empowerment of State
Governors and Houses of Assembly to equip and give
administrative and operational directives to the Force in
accordance with the peculiar circumstances of the state. A
commensurate enlargement of the share of State governments in
the Federation Account would follow, thereby leaving each of the
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States free to develop its Police Force in accordance with its own
peculiar local needs. There would still be a Federal regulatory
body that establishes minimum qualifications for employment into
the force, make rules to prevent jurisdictional conflict and other
inter state problems and perhaps maintain a basic training school
for all policemen. However, the National Assembly should not be
empowered to take control of a state police force except after the
declaration of a State of Emergency in that state.
In spite of the fears expressed by the PRC on establishment of
state police there are today in existence in Nigeria ethnic militias
and vigilante groups performing the statutory functions of the
police in the area of crime control. Under the defunct military
dictatorship every military administrator or governor set up antirobbery squad funded and maintained by state governments.
In order to take care of the fear that state governors may deploy
personnel of state police to harass and intimidate political
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opponents, it is suggested that the Commissioner of Police of a
state shall be appointed by the Governor upon the
recommendation of State Police Council. The appointment should
be subject to the ratification of the House of Assembly.
The State Police Council shall consist of:
A representative of each of the following;
i.
The Governor
ii.
House of Assembly
iii.
Nigerian Bar Association
iv.
Nigerian Labour Congress in the State
v.
Local Governments in the State
vi.
Body of Traditional Rulers
vii.
2 Representatives of Religious Organisations
viii. Nigerian Union of Journalists
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The Council shall elect its own chairperson among its members.
I suggest that we constitute a think tank to look at this proposal
more closely and study other models that operate in other
jurisdictions so we can design one that works for us.
Some of the models that exist are - Multiple Coordinated
Decentralized Mode or Multiple Uncoordinated Decentralized
Model. The Multiple Coordinated Decentralized model operates
without a national/federal police force. Rather, there are
numerous individual police forces established to have jurisdiction
over specific cities or areas. Offices and official positions are
established to ensure that the police forces run smoothly- there is
a home office created to fund the forces and provide resources
and chief police officers are given the duty to control regional
forces. Countries that operate this model typically have
Independent Police Complaints Authorities where citizens can file
complaints against erring police officers. Other offices are also
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established to ensure that the police forces run efficiently in these
countries.
However, under the Multiple Uncoordinated Decentralized model
as operates in the United States, although there is no national
police force, there are federal authorities assigned to specific
jurisdictions. These federal authorities regulate federal laws that
fall within their specific jurisdictions. The most significant and the
largest areas of policing under this model are the state and local
levels. Each state establishes a police force that only has
jurisdiction in that particular state. Generally, the main role and
the goals of the police forces are similar across the country.
In Nigeria, State Policing is likely to be more effective. In a
centralized policing system, one strategy is typically used to treat
diverse issues that may require different strategies and
sometimes the decisions based on this are political rather than
strategic. On the other hand, due to the smaller scale of state
policing, there is the ability to tailor specific strategies for an
issue; thereby increasing the likelihood of success. State run
police and penitentiaries will be closer to citizens and more
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familiar with the needs of the people in its jurisdiction than the
national government. It will also allow for a system of checks
and balance as the lack of a dominant authority is likely to reduce
the opportunity for abuse of the system.
I look forward to a fruitful conference
Thank you for listening.
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN
July 18, 2011
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