Preparing for effective state policing

The recent submission of a 75-page framework for state policing by the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, to the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, marks a watershed moment in Nigeria’s constitutional and security evolution. It demonstrates President Bola Tinubu’s determination to take state police beyond mere rhetoric.

For decades, the debate over Nigeria’s decentralised policing has been trapped between the urgent need for local intelligence and the legitimate fear of political abuse. As the National Assembly prepares to tinker with the 1999 Constitution, the focus must shift from whether we should have state police to how we can build a system that is professional, accountable and harmonised.

The success of this reform hinges on a surgical delineation of duties between Federal and State forces to minimise jurisdictional frictions. The IGP’s framework wisely suggests moving policing from the Exclusive to the Concurrent Legislative List, but this is only the beginning. To prevent “turf wars”, the law must be explicit: the Federal Police should retain exclusivity over inter-state crimes, terrorism and national data coordination, while State Police focus on community safety, local ordinances and rapid response.

Conflict is not inevitable if we establish a clear “Conflict Resolution Tribunal” to arbitrate jurisdictional disputes in real-time. Crucially, the problem of political capture, which has often been used as an argument against state police must be addressed with institutional firewalls. State governments must manage their police forces with a high sense of responsibility, ensuring they do not become instruments of vendetta against political opponents.

This requires the establishment of independent State Police Service Commissions, composed of retired jurists and civil society leaders, to handle appointments and discipline. Governance must be merit-based, not partisan.

Furthermore, state policing must be an inclusive shield, not an ethnic or religious sword. The rights of all Nigerians—regardless of their state of origin, ethnic background, or religious affiliation—must be sacrosanct. A Nigerian from the North living in a Southern state, or vice versa, even foreign nationals, must feel equally protected by the local force.

The framework’s recommendation for a 10-year residency requirement for recruits and a uniform National Code of Conduct are essential. We must criminalise compliance with illegal executive directives and ensure that federal oversight remains a potent recourse for any citizen whose fundamental rights are abridged.

As the state police initiative moves through the crucible of Constitution amendment process, the ultimate goal must be a safer federation. The police system must play a leading role in apprehending terrorism, banditry, violent jihadism and the menace of armed herders. We are not just creating 36 new police forces; we are re-engineering the very safety of the Nigerian state.

If handled with professional integrity and legislative rigour, this transition will move us away from a singular institutional choke point towards a resilient, community-rooted security architecture.

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