REUBEN ABATI
Following the spate of kidnappings – human beings being stolen across the country as if they were mere objects – in Oyo, Borno, Kebbi, Katsina, Kwara, Zamfara, Niger – there has been a renewed agitation for the establishment of state police by lawmakers, Governors and concerned citizens, out of the belief that state police, a decentralized police system in the country would help move the Nigerian government closer to its fundamental responsibility of ensuring the safety of lives and property across the country. In a report by Amnesty International, it is estimated that at least 1, 100 persons were abducted in the Northern part of the country alone between January to April 2026. The International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) quotes the Community of Practice Against Mass Atrocities as putting the figure of abducted persons in Nigeria since 2019 at 23, 000. The actual figure nationwide is certainly higher. No human being should be stolen in a country where there is a government in place. Nigerians want to be safe in their own country and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has often said that he understands the cost and pain of insecurity, the effect on the people and the economy, and he is committed to making a difference with a sense of purpose.
But the problem appears insurmountable, made difficult by the resilience of the criminals behind the enterprise, and the involvement of a global, jihadist network. In the last week of May, the Governor of Oyo State had made a plea for the urgent establishment of state police. He was speaking against the background of the abduction of 45 persons: teachers and students, some as young as two years old in his state on May 15. He accused the Federal Government of deceiving Nigerians. The growing, alarming epidemic of insecurity in the country points to state failure, abdication of responsibility, and the helplessness of the people, even if we get the occasional report that the security agencies are trying their best to fight the problem. The Armed Forces of Nigeria have since been drawn into the emergency, that is what it is, and these gallant soldiers are overstretched having to do police work.
The police are completely overwhelmed, the bandits and terrorists promoting the commoditization of human beings, collecting ransom, have shown greater determination than our security agencies. Certain communities have had to resort to self-help, organizing their own militias and vigilante groups, a citizen-led community protection force. Others have abandoned their homes and farms. This is how bad the situation is. Nigeria is at a point where the people have to organize their own water supply, because the state has failed in that regard, almost every home has a borehole. Nigerians have also learnt to provide their own electricity because the electricity reform process has failed, and when there is electricity supply, the bills are too high, but in many communities, there is no power supply. In many streets in urban Nigeria, families have learnt to live with the unceasing, humdrum din of generators; a few privileged families are installing solar panels and even that comes at a cost as there have been reports of poorly installed panels causing fire accidents. The easiest way to live in Nigeria is to learn to be a local government unto yourself. Many of our compatriots are stranded abroad, or are planning to run away from Nigeria as illegal immigrants, just so they can experience for once what it means to live in a society where basic necessities of daily living are taken for granted. Once in London, I wanted to iron my clothes for the next day just in case there was an electricity cut. Nigeria has a bad way of following us everywhere! But the saddest part of our condition at home is the degeneration of our communities into killing fields, and the spread of ungoverned spaces.
Terrorists and bandits have become so bold, they advertise their evil enterprise on social media. They do not respect any one or anywhere, and they are gradually covering the entire territory, from the North to the South. About seven generals have been abducted, including Major General Idris Alkali, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, Maj. Gen. Peter Ademokhai, Maj. Gen. Edet Akpan, Brig. Gen. Maharazu Tsiga, former Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and most recently General Rabe Abubakar (rtd), former Director of Defence Information at the Defence Headquarters, who was kidnapped along with his wife on their way to a wedding in Katsina, Major Joe Ajayi, Colonel Joseph Ajanaku. With the way things are, it won’t be too long when terrorists will storm a Government House and kidnap a sitting Governor in any of the states of Nigeria!
Would state police help? The conversation about this alternative is not new. Each time there is an upsurge in kidnappings and banditry, the security conversation goes back to how the creation of state police would make a difference, until it is forgotten and we move in other directions. During the 2014 National Political Conference, convened by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, the delegates approved the creation of state police, with states to have the power to establish, finance and control their own police forces, within their own jurisdictions while the Federal Police would focus on federal offences. Some of the more ardent advocates argue that a state police will be in line with the principles of federalism. As Professor Kemi Rotimi, professional historian and author of the seminal work, The Police in a Federal State: The Nigerian Experience (2001) puts it, “Nigeria is set to reintroduce federalist policing principles from pre-1966, not state police.” Before the military coup of 1966, there were native authority police forces in the Northern and Western regions of Nigeria. The Benin Division had local government police which was abolished in 1963. All such structures were stripped of their independence in 1966 and placed under the operational command of a central Inspector General of Police through the instrumentality of Decree No. 1 of 1966 and Decree No. 34 (The Unification Decree) of May 24, 1966. The centralization of the police forces in the country by the Aguiyi-Ironsi military government was vastly unpopular but the legacy is still alive today in Sections 214 – 216 of the 1999 Constitution. Hence, to create state police or to return to the federalist model, the 1999 Constitution would have to be amended in line with the procedures spelled out in Section 9 of the same Constitution to wit: “Modes of altering provisions of the Constitution.”
In July 2018, an effort was made by the 8th National Assembly to amend the 1999 Constitution accordingly when Senator Ike Ekweremadu (Enugu West), Deputy Senate President as he then was, tabled a State Police Bill before the Senate. The Bill seeks to establish a dual tier police structure: federal and individual state police with organs such as Federal Police, State Police, the National Police Service Commission, National Police Council, and State Police Commission for the states. The Bill passed First Reading in the Senate and received the support of 75 Senators out of 109. There was also a similar Bill in the House of Representatives which went as far as Second Reading. The then Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki met with Speakers of the Houses of Assembly across the country to get their concurrence since Section 9 is very clear in stating the requirement of four-fifths majority of the National Assembly in each of the two Chambers, and a resolution of the House of Assembly of not less than two-thirds of all the states. The Bill eventually failed because of the fear that state police will be abused by state governors and weaponized against political opponents, lack of funding capacity and lack of safeguards. Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s main proposal was that the state police could be established within a period not later than ten days, provided there is the political will to do so. It has been eight years since then and we are still on the same subject.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been consistent in advocating the establishment of state police as a means of strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture. State Governors have also been on the matter since 2018 when the Nigeria Governors’ Forum endorsed state policing. In March 2024, 16 state Governors submitted memos on it and called for a review of the Constitution. In December 2024, the National Economic Council reported that all the 36 state Governors had endorsed the establishment of state police in the Federation. In March 2026, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum formally submitted their proposals for the creation of State Police to the National Security Adviser and the National Assembly for review. The then newly appointed Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu also followed up with a 75-page operational and administrative framework which he sent to the Senate for consideration, as well as the inauguration of a seven-member committee to work on the framework. Two months later, we have now been told that the National Assembly will commence the amendment process to establish state police, with effect from today, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele says there will be no further delay in transmitting the Bill to the 36 states of the Federation. This should be one of the most debated bills in Nigeria’s contemporary history. It will require the movement of policing from the Exclusive to the Concurrent Legislative List in the 1999 Constitution. Can it be done in 10 days as Senator Ekweremadu once proposed? Is the timing right, considering the fact that this is election season? Are all the Governors as committed as they make out? Or would the current effort end up like others before it?
One of the major opponents of state police is Mohammed Bello Adoke, Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, 2010 – 2015 who as far back as 2012, and also in his book, Burden of Service (2019), has argued, and he is not alone in this regard, that Nigeria’s democratic structures are not mature enough for the decentralization of policing. He believes that the Nigeria Police should remain with the Federal Government to prevent regional fragmentation, its weaponization as a political tool by state governors, and the proliferation of localized armies. While he believes in federalism, he nonetheless insists that “the time is not yet ripe” for state policing. There have been other reactions over the years, especially from retired police officers who devote more energy to the recommendations of community policing, a decentralized police force and additional police commands, mass recruitment of more officers and enhanced welfare packages to boost the morale of serving officers. Many of these retired policemen are guilty of territorialism, and a kind of “guardian syndrome.” They cannot imagine a police force that would be different from the one that they served. Persons who are afraid of the possibility of abuse are in the majority, but there are also optimists who believe that whatever challenges that may arise could be addressed. The bottom line is for Governors to have a say in the security and protection of the people who elected them into office. But how many of our current Governors are truly enthusiastic beyond being seen to be making politically correct statements. The Governors need to show more concern. They must become strong advocates for peace and progress with uncommon passion.
In 2016, the then Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, openly declared war against herdsmen attacking people in parts of his state. He told the people of Ekiti State: “Everything you need me to do, I will do. The moment you are not secure, I better resign. Nobody will take Ekiti away from us. This killing of our people must stop. It is deliberate, and we must take all actions to stop it. A fight against one Ekiti man is a fight against everybody. The President must rise up to the challenge and stand and stare the present situation in terms of insecurity in the face. When they defeat you, they will go to the next community. When they defeat that community, they will go to another one. This is Ekitiparapo war and it must be fought with the totality of our spirit. I stand by you. I stand for you, and that is why you have elected me in times like this. I will not disappoint you.” Ten years later, Fayose’s words still ring true. He stood by his people. A man who loves the dramatic for effect, he joined security agents to chase bandits into the thick forests of Ekiti and beyond. Current Governors may have established security outfits and vigilante groups in their states, but the responsibility in managing a state police structure will require greater commitment. Another Governor who has shown great passion about his people’s security and welfare is the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN of Ondo State. He led the creation of the Western Nigeria Security Network known as Operation Amotekun in the South West States. He was the visionary architect who promised to protect the forests in Yorubaland from bandits and he personally led the operation, recruited forest guards, and wore the Amotekun uniform with pride. When the Buhari administration opposed the Amotekun, Akeredolu stood firm.
If the plan to establish state police succeeds, groups such as Amotekun in the South West, Ebube Agu in the South East, and Operation Crush in Akwa Ibom, Anambra Vigilante Group, Benue Volunteer Guards, Civilian Joint Task Forces in the North should be integrated into the new framework. The various proposals submitted so far on state police should be made public for collective, participatory scrutiny to promote transparency and ownership. This is election season and most of the lawmakers who should consider this Bill lost out during the party primaries. They are distracted and aggrieved. This may well be the major stumbling block this time around.
