A familiar promise returns to centre stage
President Bola Tinubu has restated his commitment to decentralising Nigeria’s policing system, signalling renewed momentum for the creation of state police structures across the country.
Speaking at a public lecture in Umuahia, Abia State, the President said the Federal Government remained convinced that Nigeria’s security challenges required structural reform beyond the current centralised policing framework.
“I have already given a nod to the establishment of State Police,” Tinubu said, urging the National Assembly to commence a review of relevant laws to allow states that deem it necessary to establish sub-national policing systems.
Nigeria’s size forces the security rethink
According to the President, the country’s vast geography and ethnic diversity make a single-layer policing model increasingly inadequate.
He argued that decentralised policing existed during the First Republic and that a return to that model, under constitutional safeguards, could enhance local accountability and rapid response capabilities.
Tinubu emphasised that enabling states to manage their own security structures would not weaken federal authority but rather strengthen national cohesion by giving communities a stronger stake in security governance.
A security architecture under pressure
Nigeria has faced persistent security challenges ranging from banditry and insurgency to communal violence and kidnappings. Critics of the current system have long argued that a centrally controlled police force is overstretched and lacks local intelligence depth.
By pushing for legislative review, the President signalled that reform must now move from rhetoric to statutory action. However, constitutional amendments would be required to redefine policing powers between federal and state authorities.
Security analysts have previously warned that while decentralisation could improve responsiveness, it must be accompanied by strong oversight mechanisms to prevent political misuse at state level.
Inclusion as part of the broader recalibration
Tinubu also framed his position within a broader effort to promote inclusive leadership in the security sector. He referenced recent appointments of senior military officials from the South-East as evidence of an effort to strengthen national belonging within security institutions.
Such appointments, he said, reinforce loyalty and solidarity across regions — critical factors in confronting national security threats.
Reform without guardrails carries risk
The state police debate is not new. Past administrations have floated similar proposals, but concerns about abuse, funding capacity, and inter-state coordination stalled progress.
If the National Assembly advances the review, lawmakers will face a delicate balance: empowering states without fracturing command integrity or enabling political weaponisation of law enforcement.
What now stands before Nigeria is not simply a structural tweak but a constitutional inflection point. The success or failure of decentralised policing could shape the country’s security trajectory for decades.
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