• Super Admin
• 08 Mar, 2026

March 08, (THEWILL) -- The constitutional amendment that could reshape law enforcement across Nigeria is advancing through the National Assembly at a pace rarely seen on questions of this complexity. President Bola Tinubu has urged lawmakers to act, the Inspector-General of Police has already convened a committee to build a framework and all 36 state governments have submitted reports in favour of change. After decades of debate, the establishment of state-level police forces appears closer to reality than at any previous moment in our nation's post-independence history. The urgency is not difficult to explain. Nigeria has roughly 370,000 police officers to serve a population that has exceeded 230 million -- a ratio of approximately one officer per 630 citizens, far below the United Nations recommendation of one per 450. The shortfall would be troubling in any country; in one as vast and diverse as Nigeria, with active insurgencies in the north-east, widespread banditry across the north-west and persistent kidnapping across multiple regions, it constitutes a crisis. A significant portion of the existing force is deployed to guard politicians, senior officials and prominent private citizens, leaving routine patrol and community protection chronically understaffed. Millions of Nigerians in rural areas and dense forest zones receive almost no police presence at all. The roots of this problem extend well beyond the present government. Modern Nigerian policing traces its origins to British colonial administration. A consular guard formed in Lagos Colony in 1861, followed over subsequent decades by the Hausa Constabulary in 1879 and the Lagos Police in 1896. Various constabularies consolidated until much later. By 1930, a single Nigeria Police Force had emerged under federal control. The 1999 Constitution enshrined this arrangement, placing policing on the exclusive legislative list and recognising the Nigeria Police Force as the sole national body. What was designed to serve colonial order was carried into democratic government largely intact and critics argue that its instincts, over centralisation, deference to power, limited accountability to ordinary communities, have never truly been reformed. I have been an advocate for the creation of state police and even local government police to complement the current federal police structure. In my previous articles, I explained why decentralising policing is the country's answer to its daunting security challenges, saying it is ideal on both practical and democratic grounds. Officers drawn from the communities they serve would understand local terrain, language and social dynamics in ways that officers posted from distant regions cannot. That knowledge directly affects the quality of intelligence and the speed of response. The current command structure, which routes authority through national headquarters before decisions reach the field, has demonstrably slowed reaction times during local emergencies. Where regional security outfits have filled the gap, Amotekun in the south-west, Ebubeagu in the south-east and civilian joint task forces in parts of the north-east, they have shown that locally grounded forces can provide something the federal system struggles to deliver. The fact that all 36 states have formally endorsed reform suggests the appetite for change runs considerably deeper than presidential rhetoric. The arguments against are, nonetheless, substantial. Nigeria's governors already wield considerable power, and there is well-founded anxiety that state police could become instruments of political coercion. The First Republic offers a warning: Native Authority police forces were used during that period to suppress political opponents, and the shenanigans of certain state electoral commissions during elections in more recent years does little to inspire confidence that history would not repeat itself. Senior police officials have warned that poorly defined jurisdictions could generate conflicts between federal and state forces, while analysts note that a number of states currently struggle to meet basic financial obligations. Poorly paid officers, as experience in numerous countries has shown, are more susceptible to corruption and extortion. International evidence demonstrates that decentralised policing can function well, but only where the institutional architecture is sound. The United States operates federal, state and local forces alongside independent oversight boards that receive complaints and review conduct. India's state police function under federal guidelines, with central agencies able to intervene in major investigations. Canada blends provincial forces with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police through service contracts that maintain common standards. None of these models is without flaws, but all share a defining characteristic: clear legal boundaries between jurisdictions, independent scrutiny and national standards that apply, regardless of which force is operating. For Nigeria, that architecture does not yet exist. Constructing it must precede, rather than follow, the creation of state forces. Placing state policing under a concurrent legislative list would allow federal authorities to set minimum standards for training, recruitment and ethics. Independent oversight commissions at state level, drawing on civil society, legal professionals and human rights bodies, would give citizens a meaningful avenue to challenge misconduct. Federal academies could standardise training nationally, ensuring that officers in Borno and Lagos enter service with the same professional grounding. Pilot schemes in selected states, ahead of nationwide rollout, would allow policymakers to identify problems while they remain manageable. The Senate's stated intention to complete constitutional amendments before the 2027 elections imposes a tight deadline on a process that demands precision. Speed and thoroughness are rarely comfortable companions in legislation of this scale and there is a genuine risk that political momentum will produce a framework that looks adequate on paper but fails in practice. Nigeria is contemplating more than just an administrative reorganisation. It is going for a fundamental shift in the relationship between the state and its citizens on questions of safety, accountability and power. The case for reform is strong. The case for rushing it through without independent checks in place is considerably weaker. How those competing pressures are resolved in the months ahead will determine whether this is remembered as the moment Nigeria modernised its security architecture, or the moment it traded one set of problems for another. Source: https://thewillnews.com/now-that-state-policing-is-imminent/