State police could be Nigeria’s ‘silver bullet’ or Hiroshima, Defence Minister warns

…Calling governors chief security officers without police powers is like calling me a husband without a wife — Oshiomhole

…Security is measured in minutes, not hours — Peter Mbah

_…Nobody knows a community better than its own people — Bukar Usman*

…Without financial independence, state police could create new problems — Opeyemi Bamidele

…State police is easier to regulate than policing Nigeria from Abuja — former Israeli PM, Ehud Barak

…Citizens have been left out of this debate — Chidi Odinkalu

…State police must be citizens’ police, not politicians’ police — Caleb Mutfwang

…Let your pain propel reform — Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

‘Nigeria will not copy America’s policing model — Presidency

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — Nigeria’s push to establish state police gained fresh momentum on Thursday, but not without stark warnings that the reform could either become the country’s long-awaited answer to worsening insecurity or trigger dangerous new abuses if implemented without adequate safeguards.

At an ARISE News Town Hall on State Police in Abuja, political leaders, lawmakers, governors, security experts, legal scholars and international security figures overwhelmingly agreed that Nigeria’s current centralised policing structure has outlived its usefulness.

Their broad consensus, however, was matched by equally strong calls for careful implementation, sustainable funding, constitutional safeguards, public participation, intelligence coordination and clear lines of accountability to prevent the proposed system from becoming an instrument of political abuse rather than public protection.

Setting the tone was the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), whose intervention captured both the promise and the danger surrounding the proposal.

As the discussion unfolded, former Edo State Governor and Senator Adams Oshiomhole pressed the constitutional case for decentralising policing, Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah drew from his state’s security experience to argue for operational control at the sub-national level, Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele outlined the legislative safeguards under consideration, while historian Bukar Usman, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, Governor Caleb Mutfwang, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, presidential aide Dubem Moghalu and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak contributed perspectives on funding, intelligence, constitutional design, oversight, public trust and implementation.

“State police, if properly harnessed, well planned and effectively implemented, could become the silver bullet we need to address many of our security challenges. However, if it is poorly planned and badly executed, it could become the Hiroshima that many people fear,” Musa warned.

The Defence Minister cautioned that decentralised policing should never become an instrument of ethnicity, religion or elite interests, insisting that implementation should be gradual and accompanied by reforms addressing the weaknesses already confronting the Nigeria Police Force.

He recommended a phased rollout beginning in state capitals to enable authorities study operational realities before expanding nationwide, warning that simply creating state police without addressing the structural challenges facing the existing police would only reproduce the same problems under a different system.

Musa further argued that justice, fairness and equity must underpin the proposed policing structure so that vulnerable communities develop confidence in law enforcement and government institutions. He urged Nigerians to support the country rather than constantly disparage it, saying national progress depended as much on citizens’ commitment as on institutional reforms.

Calling governors chief security officers without police powers is like calling me a husband without a wife — Oshiomhole

Oshiomhole, who spoke from his experience as a former governor and now senator, argued that Nigeria’s Constitution places governors in an impossible position by designating them as Chief Security Officers of their states without granting them authority over the police.

“You cannot call me the Chief Security Officer when I have no control over the instrument responsible for security. It is like calling me a husband when I have no wife,” Oshiomhole said.

He recounted how, as governor of Edo State, he invested more in police logistics than the Federal Government but lacked disciplinary authority over officers or operational control over policing.

The senator also narrated occasions when criminal suspects arrested in Edo were allegedly released following directives from Abuja, saying the current system weakens accountability because governors bear responsibility for security without possessing the necessary constitutional powers.

He dismissed fears that governors would inevitably abuse state police, arguing that elected officials already operate under constitutional checks, independent courts, a vibrant media and periodic elections, unlike military administrators who exercised virtually unchecked authority.

Security is measured in minutes, not hours — Peter Mbah

Governor Peter Mbah said Nigeria should move beyond debating whether state police is desirable and instead concentrate on designing an effective implementation framework.

Drawing on Enugu State’s experience, he said security investments involving artificial intelligence-powered surveillance, command-and-control centres and the Distress Response Squad had reduced violent crime by more than 90 per cent.

“Security is measured in minutes. You must therefore have the operational capability to respond swiftly, not only to prevent crime but also to react immediately whenever there is a security breach,” Mbah said.

He argued that responsibility must always be matched with operational authority, insisting that states already shoulder enormous security costs without corresponding constitutional powers.

Nobody knows a community better than its own people — Bukar Usman

Offering a different perspective, historian and former federal permanent secretary Bukar Usman reiterated his long-standing preference for local police rather than state police, arguing that community knowledge remains the most valuable asset in combating insecurity.

“Nobody knows a community better than its own people,” Usman said.

He maintained that Nigeria’s constitutional security institutions already provide workable frameworks but have not always functioned as intended, adding that security should never become a partisan issue.

Without financial independence, state police could create new problems — Opeyemi Bamidele

Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele told participants that constitutional amendment alone would not guarantee effective state policing, stressing that detailed legislation would be required to establish funding arrangements, operational standards, oversight mechanisms and safeguards against abuse.

“Without financial independence, state police could create new problems,” Bamidele warned.

He explained that the constitutional amendment merely seeks to move policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List, allowing states to establish police services if they choose, while subsequent legislation would determine operational details.

State police easier to regulate than policing Nigeria from Abuja — Ehud Barak

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak endorsed Nigeria’s move towards decentralised policing, saying the country’s size and security realities make state policing more practical than relying entirely on a centrally controlled force.

“I strongly believe that establishing state police within a federal structure such as Nigeria’s is a positive step and one that moves the country in the right direction for many reasons,” Barak said.

He argued that officers recruited from local communities would possess greater cultural understanding and stronger human intelligence capabilities, while advanced intelligence assets should remain under federal control.

“It is much easier to correct potential abuses through carefully drafted legislation than to attempt to police a country as vast as Nigeria solely from the centre,” he said.

Barak stressed that while human intelligence should largely be generated at the state level, sophisticated signal intelligence should remain exclusively under federal control because of its enormous cost and the national security risks associated with its misuse.

He also proposed a federally controlled rapid deployment police force capable of reinforcing state police whenever local security situations exceed their operational capacity, while insisting that military deployment should remain a measure of last resort because soldiers are trained for warfare rather than routine civilian law enforcement.

The former Israeli leader said the success of state policing would ultimately depend on constant coordination rather than mere decentralisation. He argued that state police should maintain full operational transparency with the Federal Government, while Abuja should share strategic intelligence, provide national guidelines and remain responsive to changing security realities across the states.

Barak observed that terrorism had increasingly shifted southwards into the Sahel and West Africa, making Nigeria’s security challenges part of a wider regional threat. Drawing on Israel’s experience, he said the country’s intelligence capabilities were built over decades through continuous learning from both operational successes and painful failures rather than through any perfect system.

He further commended Nigeria’s determination to confront terrorism, kidnapping, organised crime and separatist violence while remaining committed to democratic governance, describing that commitment as deserving ‘respect and admiration.’

Citizens have been left out of this debate — Chidi Odinkalu

Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, emerged as one of the strongest dissenting voices, arguing that while there was broad national consensus on decentralising policing, the process of designing the new system had largely excluded the Nigerian people.

“We are discussing the reform of one of the most fundamental powers of the state during an election season, yet there has been insufficient public debate,” Odinkalu said.

He questioned why such far-reaching constitutional changes were being pursued during an election season and disclosed that two different versions of the State Police Bill were already before the National Assembly without being made available for public scrutiny.

According to him, politicians were effectively redesigning one of the state’s most powerful institutions among themselves while excluding the citizens who would ultimately be policed.

Odinkalu also drew a distinction between policing and national security, arguing that under the National Security Agencies Act, responsibility for internal security primarily resides with the State Security Service rather than the police.

He reminded participants that successive reform panels dating back to 2008; including the Presidential Committee on Police Reform, the Muhammadu Dikko Yusuf Committee (2008) and the Parry Osayande Committee (2012), had all endorsed decentralised policing.

Consequently, he said, the real debate was no longer whether state police should exist but how it should be implemented.

The constitutional lawyer warned against proposals to establish state supreme courts, arguing that such arrangements could undermine constitutional property rights and weaken national cohesion.

He also criticised the absence of clear transition arrangements, training doctrine, implementation planning and safeguards against abuse, expressing concern that Nigeria was considering devolving policing powers despite existing challenges relating to illegal firearms and without fully addressing the risks associated with implementing the reform during an election cycle.

State police must be citizens’ police, not politicians’ police — Caleb Mutfwang

Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State identified funding sustainability as one of the biggest determinants of success, arguing that state police must enjoy robust take-off financing, institutional consolidation and long-term financial sustainability.

“We must build a state police institution that guarantees the basic rights of the people, protects lives and property, and ensures that it is a citizens’ police, not a police for the elites,” Mutfwang said.

He warned that if state police were subjected to the same unstable funding arrangements affecting many public institutions, the reform could struggle almost from inception.

Let your pain propel reform — Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan urged Nigerians not to allow previous abuses by security agencies discourage support for reform.

“Allow your pain to propel you towards seeking reform. As long as we are citizens of Nigeria, we cannot give up on our country,” she said.

The Kogi Central senator said the National Assembly recognised the need for broader engagement with civil society organisations and ordinary Nigerians, expressing confidence that the legislative process would remain inclusive as work progresses on the proposed policing reforms.

Nigeria will not copy America’s policing model — Presidency

Providing an update on the Federal Government’s legislative plans, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research and Secretary of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Dubem Moghalu, disclosed that drafting of the National Policing Bill had only just begun following the inauguration of the presidential committee two days earlier.

He said the Presidential Working Group comprises the Chief of Staff to the President, the National Security Adviser, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Governors of Kwara and Ogun states, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police, the Nigerian Bar Association and the Inspector-General of Police.

According to Moghalu, the constitutional amendment currently before the National Assembly merely creates the legal pathway for state policing and does not itself establish state police. He said the operational framework; including minimum standards for recruitment, training, inter-agency cooperation, oversight and accountability would instead be contained in the proposed National Policing Bill.

He added that constitutional amendment and enactment of the policing legislation would only mark the beginning of the reform process because several consequential amendments would still be required across Nigeria’s existing security laws, all of which were originally designed around a unitary policing system.

“We are not trying to recreate the American policing model in Nigeria,” Moghalu said.

He said the Federal Government was deliberately avoiding a copy-and-paste adoption of foreign policing systems, insisting that Nigeria’s eventual framework would reflect its constitutional realities, federal structure and unique security challenges rather than simply replicate overseas models.

Although speakers differed on funding models, constitutional safeguards and implementation timelines, virtually none defended the status quo. Instead, the conversation shifted decisively from whether Nigeria should decentralise policing to how it could do so without weakening democratic accountability, fragmenting intelligence coordination or creating new centres of political abuse.

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