Federalism and the Call for State Police in Nigeria: A Critical Evaluation

ABSTRACT

This study examined federalism and the call for state police in Nigeria. The negative and positive effects of establishing a Nigerian state police while considering the current security challenges in the country, the core reasons for creating the Nigerian Police force and the duties they have been assigned to right from the time of inception. This study adopted the panel survey design. Data were collected through questionnaires raised from the research questions in this study. The questionnaire were designed in two sections A & B. Section A will contain the demographic data of the respondents while section B will contain the research questions. Other strategies used for the data collection includes interviews and personal observation on the practice of federalism in Nigeria and whether it is necessary to establish state police considering the current state of the nation It is recommended that there should be a clear division of power between the federal government and State government, that the federal government should exercise power in certain basic matters of general Importance, there should be a constitutional review of the Nigerian constitution. That the various crises Plaguing Nigeria will be better managed if there are state police who understands the language and geographical location of the place they are called to serve and that call to establish a state police should be considered a necessity.