Nigeria's Senate has approved a bill that would allow the country's 36 states to establish their own police forces, a significant reform aimed at addressing the nation's escalating insecurity crisis. The proposed constitutional change aims to decentralize the police structure, which is currently under federal government control but has been stretched thin by widespread conflict.
Analysts suggest that a limited police presence in rural areas has exacerbated security problems, allowing militant groups to operate with less challenge. The United Nations reports that criminal groups and jihadis have killed tens of thousands of people in Nigeria. Under the proposed reform, state police forces would operate alongside the federal police, which would retain control over counterterrorism, border patrol, organized crime, and other national security matters.
This legislation, championed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and enjoying bipartisan support, has been debated for years as a potential solution to the country's growing conflicts. Insecurity has reportedly worsened under Tinubu's administration, with militants active in both southern and northern regions, and at least 80 schoolchildren still held captive after recent abductions.
"In the light of recent mass kidnappings, the calls for a decentralized police have increased due to the sluggish nature of the government’s response to the events, which has been, in part, caused by the structural deficiencies of a centralized policing framework in Nigeria," said Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based risk advisory firm.
State governors currently serve as the top security officials in their respective states but lack direct operational command of law enforcement. Critics of the state police model raise concerns about the potential for abuse by state governors, who might use such forces to advance personal agendas or suppress dissent.
The bill must now be approved by two-thirds of the state assemblies to become law, as it requires a constitutional amendment.