Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate Donald Duke has called for a major decentralisation of Nigeria’s policing system, including the establishment of state and, where necessary, local government police.
Duke argued that Nigeria’s highly centralised security structure is not sufficient to effectively tackle terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes occurring across different communities.
Speaking on the country’s security challenges, he said policing must become more locally focused because communities are better positioned to provide the intelligence needed to prevent crimes before they happen.
Duke said Nigeria’s security architecture has not undergone sufficient restructuring since the end of the Civil War in 1970.
“You really have not updated your security architecture since 1970. It is only recently that more military divisions were created, but anything that is essential must be local. You have to localise it,” he said.
The former governor backed the creation of state police and, where appropriate, local government police, but said strong safeguards would be necessary to prevent abuse.
“You have got to decentralise your policing. The idea of state police, even local government police, is right. Have it and set the guidelines, but you must strengthen the judiciary because there must be an institution everyone reports to when things go wrong,” Duke said.
He dismissed concerns that governors could automatically turn state police into political tools, arguing that the existing federal police structure has also faced similar allegations involving powerful political officeholders.
“If you say state police will be abused, the national police will also be abused by the president. It is not only governors who can abuse the police. Set it up and put stringent guidelines in place,” he said.
Duke said intelligence gathering should be the main responsibility of decentralised police formations because local residents are more likely to notice unusual activities and identify emerging threats within their communities.
“Eighty per cent of security is intelligence. You cannot be in Sokoto and expect to know what is happening in Calabar. You need local people to gather that intelligence,” he said.
He added that only a smaller part of policing should focus on enforcement, with intelligence gathering taking priority.
Duke also criticised Nigeria’s intelligence efforts against Boko Haram, saying the country should have developed deeper knowledge of the terrorist group’s operations after years of insurgency.
“It is a shame that after almost 20 years of Boko Haram, we don’t have adequate intelligence on them. We have not infiltrated their ranks. We ought to have infiltrated their ranks by now to know what they will do next,” he said.
The PRP candidate pointed to the United States as an example of a country that combines locally based security formations with federal oversight.
“In the United States, they have what they call the National Guard, which is military and it is in every state. It is really like having a division in every state. They have decentralised security,” Duke said.
Beyond policing, Duke linked Nigeria’s insecurity to poverty and the lack of economic opportunities, arguing that criminal groups can attract young people when illegal activities appear more financially rewarding than legitimate employment.
He referenced the Maitatsine uprising of the late 1970s and early 1980s, saying severe poverty can create conditions in which violent movements gain ground.
“The northeastern part is the poorest part of the North. You find that those things are exacerbated in those areas,” he said.
Duke warned that the problem had expanded beyond the North, with insecurity increasingly affecting other parts of the country.
He also pointed to the financial incentives associated with kidnapping and banditry, saying some young people may find legitimate employment unattractive when criminal activities promise much larger sums.
“A kidnapper kidnaps someone and gets N20 million. You then tell him to take a steady job that pays N250,000. It cannot work,” Duke said.
“He has already tasted blood, and it becomes very difficult to wean him off it,” he added.
The former governor said security reforms must therefore go hand in hand with education, employment opportunities and policies that improve citizens’ ability to earn a legitimate livelihood.
According to Duke, government must create conditions where citizens can be productive while living in a secure and orderly environment.
“The reason we need a government is to ensure the utmost productivity of our citizens within a safe and orderly environment. If people are productive and the environment is safe, what more should the government do? That is the foundation of a stable country,” he said.
