SEPERATISTS' AGITATIONS AND QUEST FOR STATE POLICE IN NIGERIA

An attempt to cultivate a common national identity in Nigeria met with serious obstacles from separatist agitations in Nigerian history which dates as far as 1914. This study examines the Separatists’ agitations and the quest for state police in Nigeria. The study found out that Nigeria Police Force was officially inaugurated on 1st October, 1960 as a government agency saddled with the responsibility of maintaining public peace and order. The study notes that the agitation for state Police has been in the public domain since the Second Republic but only received public attention at the inception of the current democratic dispensation. The study employs primary and secondary source materials including books, journal articles and other scholarly publications to interrogate the study. It concludes that Nigeria’s democracy is too young and fluid for the establishment and operation of a state police system