FEDERALISM AND UNIFIED POLICE SYSTEM: A PRODUCT OF POLITICALEXIGENCY IN NIGERIA

If there is any major issue which has generated an unending controversy in Nigeria, it is the continued agitation for state police. The security situation in the country is the trigger for the renewed agitation. It is found that the Federal Police are presently incapable of securing lives and properties in the country as a result of myriads of factors. Agitators of state police believe that a central factor in federalism is the relative autonomy enjoyed by the state governments in relation to the centre. The study found that the establishment of state police is not an effective therapy that will guarantee the security of lives and properties in a multi-cultural polity. If anything at all, state police will serve as a catalyst for the disintegration of the country considering the low level of maturity of political leadership in the country. The study concluded that the federal police should be retained and strengthened to serve as a beacon of direction, an instrument of unity, source of inspiration and custodians of human rights of the nation.