National Conference Recommends State Police

The National Conference decides that;

a. There shall be a Federal Police with areas of jurisdiction covering 

the entire country and on clearly spelt out matters and offences;

b. For any state that requires it, there shall be a State Police at the State

level, to be established, funded and controlled by the State;

c. State Law may also provide for Community Policing;

d. Deployment of Police Officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of

Police (DSP) and below should be done to their States of origin. This

will address concerns about the need for such officers to understand the

language and culture of the people of the State, especially as this group

of Officers actually constitutes the operational component of the Force;

e. Re-invigoration of the Police Council with a full time Secretariat so as to

discharge its constitutional mandate as spelt out in the 3rd Schedule, Para

27, of the 1999 Constitution;

f. Section 214 of the 1999 constitution which provides for the

establishment of ‘The Nigeria Police Force’ (NPF) should be amended

to rename it ‘The Nigeria Police’ because the Police ought not to be a

force;

g. Appointment of The Inspector General of the Police (IGP): Nomination

and appointment of the IGP should remain with the President and the

National Council of State subject to confirmation by the Senate;

h. Funding of the NPF: The funding of the Police should be seriously

enhanced and given priority attention. All logistic needs of the NPF

should be met by Government; and the enactment of the Police Trust

Fund Act should be expedited to compliment Government funding;

i. Minimum manpower (General Duties) requirement for the Force should

be worked out to achieve optimum police service delivery on the

basis of Nigeria’s current population. Other factors such as crime rate

and industrial development should also be considered in Police

deployment;

j. Police Council should remain the body responsible for Force policy,

finances, organization and standards. It should play a far greater role in

shaping the aims and objectives of the service. It should be responsible

for the appointment of the Inspector-General of Police on the advice of

the Police Service Commission;

k. Police Service Commission should continue to be responsible for

appointment, promotion and discipline of all officers below the I.G.P.,

except the operational control of the Force which is vested in the IGP. It

should be independent enough to guard against nepotism in recruitment,

discipline and promotion and the dominance of the service by any single

or few ethnic groups. In other words, it should implement the

requirement of the Constitution to reflect Federal Character in

recruitment. Memberships of the Commission should be apolitical and

should comprise men and women of proven integrity;

l. The Inspector-General of Police should be made accountable to the

Police Council for the effectiveness and efficiency of the Force;

m. Rehabilitate, expand and equip the existing police institutions to enable

them meet the training needs of the Police;

n. Training the trainers to acceptable standards while appropriate

incentives should be introduced for trainers to attract some of the best in

the Service;

o. Screen the existing manpower, weed out the bad and the untrainable

ones and commence the retraining of the retained ones;

p. Ensure proper screening and vetting of the background of all prospective

recruits using police apparatuses, the Security and Intelligence service

and traditional institutions i.e. ward, village and district heads,

emirate council and similar outfits in other parts of the country;

q. Provide a modern communication network and restore the integrated

radio satellite communication introduced in 1992;

r. An Inspectorate Department headed by a retired officer not below the

rank of DIG should be established under the Ministry of Police Affairs

to undertake inspections with a view to maintaining standards of

performance of Police formations and functions throughout the country;

records of arms and ammunition and other police station records, as well

as maintain general sanitation of Police station and barracks;

s. Public order law which had been grossly abused should be reverted to

the police for implementation;

t. A Police Reform Implementation Committee should be put in place to

facilitate the implementation of the recommended reforms; and

u. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) should be the accounting officer

of the Nigerian Police and be answerable to the Nigerian Police Council

on financial matters.