Not a Favour, But a Duty: Why Every Tier of Government Must Police—and Correct—Nigeria

Not a Favour, But a Duty: Why Every Tier of Government Must Police—and Correct—Nigeria

Citizen Bolaji O. Akinyemi

The conversation around state police in Nigeria has been framed—mistakenly—as a concession to the states, a political gift, or a risky decentralization of force. That framing is not just weak—it is misleading.

State policing, local government policing, and even decentralized correctional systems are not favours. They are inescapable duties embedded in the architecture of governance itself.

Government, at any level, exists to do three things:
make laws, interpret laws, and enforce laws. But there is a fourth, often ignored, yet equally critical function: To correct, reform, and reintegrate those who violate the law.

Without this, justice is incomplete.

The Broken Chain of Justice in Nigeria

In a functional system, justice flows in a coherent chain:

Legislation → Enforcement → Adjudication → Correction

In Nigeria today, that chain is broken.

States make laws through their Houses of Assembly.

State courts interpret and adjudicate those laws.

But enforcement is largely dependent on the centralized Nigeria Police Force.

And when convictions are secured, offenders are handed over to the Nigerian Correctional Service—a federal institution.

This creates a structural absurdity:

A state can define crime, prosecute offenders, and secure conviction—yet cannot control what happens after judgment.

Justice, therefore, is outsourced at its most critical stage.

Courts Without Custody: A Constitutional Contradiction

If states have:

Customary courts,

Magistrate courts,

High Courts,

Why must they lack control over correctional facilities?

If a local government enforces a sanitation by-law and secures conviction in a customary court, why must the correctional process be managed from Abuja?

This is not just inefficient—it is illogical.

It violates the fundamental principle that:

Authority must be complete to be meaningful.

Anything less creates gaps—gaps where justice is delayed, diluted, or denied.

The Global Logic: Integrated Justice Systems

In the United States, the justice system is integrated at every level:

Cities arrest and detain offenders,

Counties operate jails,

States run prisons,

The federal government manages federal correctional institutions.

Each tier handles its own offenders within its jurisdiction.

This ensures:

Speed,

Accountability,

Context-sensitive rehabilitation,

And systemic coherence.

Nigeria, by contrast, centralizes correctional services under the Nigerian Correctional Service, creating:

Overcrowding,

Logistical delays,

Weak rehabilitation outcomes,

And disconnection from local realities.

The 1963 Constitutional Spirit: Responsibility Must Match Authority

Under the 1963 Republican Constitution of Nigeria, Nigeria operated a system closer to true federalism—where regions were not mere administrative extensions but functional governments.

While the correctional system was not fully devolved, the philosophical foundation was clear:

Governance must be localized, responsible, and effective.

The drift toward centralization—especially under military rule—fractured this balance, concentrating power at the centre while leaving subnational governments structurally handicapped.

Why Centralized Corrections Are Failing Nigeria

A centrally controlled correctional system cannot effectively serve a country as vast and diverse as Nigeria.

It results in:

Overburdened facilities far from the communities where crimes occur,

Weak rehabilitation, as inmates are disconnected from their social context,

Administrative bottlenecks, delaying justice,

And reduced accountability, as no single tier owns the full justice process.

Most dangerously, it creates a system where:

Justice is processed, but not completed.

Reimagining Nigeria’s Justice Architecture

To restore coherence, Nigeria must adopt a multi-tier justice system:

1. Federal Level
   Federal Police
   Federal Courts
   Federal Correctional Facilities (for террорism, inter-state crimes, national offenses)
2. State Level
   State Police
   State Courts
   State Correctional Services
3. Local Government Level
   Community Policing Units
   Customary/Local Courts
   Local Detention and Rehabilitation Facilities

This is not fragmentation.
It is functional federalism.

The Question of Abuse: Design, Not Denial

Yes, there are concerns about misuse of decentralized policing and correctional systems.

But let us be honest:

Centralization has not eliminated abuse.
It has only made it more distant and less accountable.

The solution lies in:

Independent correctional oversight bodies,

Judicial review mechanisms,

Legislative supervision,

National minimum standards for human rights compliance.

The answer to abuse is not over-centralization. It is over-accountability.

A Moral Imperative in a Time of Crisis

At a time when Nigeria faces widespread insecurity—often with genocidal patterns—the inability of states to control policing and correctional systems is not just a governance flaw.

It is a national emergency.

Communities are attacked.
Suspects are arrested—sometimes.
Trials are conducted—occasionally.
But the correctional system remains distant, overwhelmed, and ineffective.

This is not justice.

This is fragmentation.

Conclusion: Completing the Circle of Justice

The debate must evolve.

State police alone is not enough.

Local policing alone is not enough.
Justice must be complete—from lawmaking to correction.

To legislate without enforcement is weak.
To enforce without adjudication is dangerous.
To adjudicate without correction is meaningless.

Nigeria must return—urgently—to the federal logic embedded in the 1963 Republican Constitution of Nigeria:

That every tier of government must be empowered to govern fully—responsibly, accountably, and completely.

Because in the end:

A nation that centralizes justice in a decentralized crisis is not governing—it is merely coping.

And Nigeria can no longer afford to cope.

Citizen Bolaji O. Akinyemi
Founding President, PVC-Naija
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Apostle & Nation Builder

Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.

Email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com
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