The history of the Constabulary in Nigeria dates back to 1861 when the British colonial administration established the Lagos Constabulary for maintaining law and order within the Protectorate.
In 1861 Lagos Constabulary formed with 30 men to maintain law and order in Lagos Colony. As time went on, the need for more hands in the art of maintaining law and order in Lagos arose, in 1879 the Constabulary expanded to 100 men.
Due to the good performance of Lagos Constabulary and the need to replicate similar security architecture in other regions, in 1890s, to be precise, Constabularies were established in other Nigerian territories, including the Royal Niger Company Constabulary.
The need for the expansion of this security agency for maintaining law and order, came handy, which necessitated its consolidation between 1900 to 1960.
For example in 1906, Northern and Southern Nigeria Constabularies merged to form the Nigerian Police Force. Meaning, Nigeria Police Force is an offshoot of Nigeria’s Constabulary.
While in 1914 Nigeria Police Force reorganised into the Northern and Southern Provincial Police Forces.
Few decades before independence in 1930s to be precise, Nigeria Police Force expanded to include specialised units like Marine Police, Mounted Police, etc.
In post-independence from 1960 to present Nigeria there were many changes that occurred in the process. For example, in 1960 the Nigeria Police Force became a National Force after Independence.
From 1967 to 1970 the Nigerian Civil War led to significant expansion and reorganisation of the Police Force. In 1990s the Nigeria Police restructured into the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and other specialised agencies in line with modern policing.
In single and simple sentence, Constabulary is the mother of the Nigeria Police Force, midwifed by many regimes.
It was not only the Nigeria Police Force, the primary law enforcement agency in the country, that was created from the Nigeria Constabulary, there are other agencies that were also created from the agency. The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was established in 1967, it was renamed and restructured in 2003.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) was established in 1988 as a specialised agency for road safety management. The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) was established in 1963 as the Nigerian Immigration Department. It later became a paramilitary organisation in 1992.
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) was established in 1892 as the Nigerian Customs Department. It later became a paramilitary organisation in 1970.
While other specialised agencies, such as the State Security Service (SSS) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), were also separately established to address specific security concerns. But these agencies were created outside the Constabulary.
Understanding this history, the former Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, during his tenure (2015 to 2023), made good use of the history and floated an excellent process to comply with the modern policing strategy, community policing.
He did it well, in such a way that, he brought together all the security agencies and established operational rapport among them. This singular, but workable idea merged with political will, helped the state to become the most peaceful state in the federation, when Ganduje was captaining the ship.
Responding to his situation, the Nigerian state, local and foreign organisations, appreciated Ganduje’s model as an excellent disposition of skilled and focused leadership, with unscathing and seamless political will and gave him Awards of Excellence in the area of security.
Kano state witnessed one of her most peaceful era when Ganduje was on the throne. Ganduje believed that modern community policing strategy, Constabulary, plays a vital role in Nigeria and other nations. That was why he revived the role of traditional institutions in securing our local communities. He initiated Security Summits across our five Emirates in the state.
While understanding the role of all security agencies generally, he also amplified neighbourhood patrols, where Constables engage in foot patrols, building relationships with residents, and addressing local concerns.
In the face of community engagement, his administration gave special consideration to the Constabulary participation in community meetings, events, and initiatives to foster trust and cooperation.
In the area of intelligence gathering, the administration of Ganduje linked the process to other security agencies with Constables as another sources to gather information on local crime trends and share with other agencies. This gave way to harmonious working relationship with all the security agencies.
It is believed that the Nigeria Police Force burden in enforcing and maintaining law and order, in the country, has a helping hand from Constables, who serve as frontline officers in community policing.
It is evident how Community Police Officers (CPOs) work closely with local leaders and residents. While Special Constabularies (e.g., Railway Police, Port Police) focus on specific areas.
Community policing as enunciated and supported by Constabulary body is a global trend and relevant in modern policing. In the United Kingdom for example, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) support constables in community policing.
In the United States of America, Community Police Officers and Neighbourhood Police Officers engage in community-focused policing. While in Australia Community Constables work with indigenous communities. It also applies to Canada where Community Police Officers focus on building relationships and trust.
It is evident that there are underlying benefits of Constabulary in Community Policing across the globe in recent time. They include improved community relationships, enhanced trust, reducing crime, increased intelligence gathering, more effective problem-solving, among many others.
But all these benefits are not without challenges. But fundamentally speaking, Constabulary activities and Police core responsibilities should be made to become more blended and proactive as it is the case in developed societies. As evidently given above.
Anwar was the Chief Press Secretary to the former Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. He can be reached at [email protected]
