The passage of the constitutional amendment bill to establish state policing has emerged as a watershed moment for Nigeria. For years, citizens have been calling for a fundamental change in how security is delivered across the country. Under the current arrangement, a state governor must essentially seek permission from the federal command in Abuja before deploying police personnel to address local threats. This cumbersome process has left communities vulnerable and has failed to provide timely responses to insecurity challenges.
However, as Nigeria reaches this critical juncture, a pressing question emerges: Are we genuinely bringing security closer to the grassroots, or are we inadvertently handing state governors a new instrument of oppression? Proponents of state policing argue that officers recruited from the very communities they are sworn to protect will possess intimate knowledge of every locality — every bush, every shortcut, and every resident. They contend that this localized approach will enable faster response times to emergencies, reduce the burden on the federal police, and allow states to tackle banditry, kidnapping, and other criminal activities more effectively. Furthermore, they point out that young people in each state would gain employment opportunities through the expanded police recruitment pipeline.
Critics, however, raise serious concerns about the potential misuse of state police forces. In a political landscape where local government elections are frequently manipulated by the ruling party at the state level, there is a real fear that governors could transform state police forces into personal instruments of control. These forces could be deployed to intimidate journalists, suppress political opponents, and curtail free speech during election seasons. The risk of authoritarian overreach remains a significant concern.
According to reports by the Nigerian Tribune, the Lagos State House of Assembly approved the state police bill in October, faulting the federal government's blanket control over the police force and seeking a model similar to the United States parliamentary system. The Kogi, Sokoto, and Ebonyi State Assemblies also passed the bill. Lagos Speaker Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa was quoted as stating that the existing federal control model was not working effectively and that state policing would enhance intelligence gathering and enable faster responses to insecurity, banditry, and kidnapping.
For the new system to succeed, the National Assembly must embed strong constitutional safeguards to prevent executive overreach. Civil society organizations, legal experts, and community leaders should serve as watchdogs to ensure that state police forces remain accountable to the public rather than being used as tools of political suppression. Decentralization represents the right direction, but only if accompanied by rigorous oversight mechanisms. Without these safeguards, there is a danger that the very institution created to protect citizens could become a mechanism of oppression. As one analyst cautioned, 'If we rush into this blindly out of fear, we might find out too late that the monster we created to protect us has turned around to devour us.'