By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
“Centralised policing for a 200-million-strong, geographically diverse nation is no longer tenable,” Dr. Joseph Oteri, Capoon of the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), has warned.
Dr. Oteri gave the warning, as he declared open the 2026 Feast of Barracuda, by the Zuma Deck Abuja.
“Our 1999 Constitution vests the police exclusively in the Federal Government. That was a choice then. Today’s reality is different,” Oteri said. “Nigerians are dying. Communities are under siege. The architecture we have relied upon is straining under the weight of challenges it was never designed to bear.”
Speaking to a crowd gathered under the theme, “Decentralized Security Architecture: Defining Federal and State Roles in State Policing in Nigeria,” Oteri argued that policing must be moved closer to the people.
“You cannot administer policing for over 200 million people from Abuja and expect local problems to be solved,” he told attendees. “A Governor, elected by the people, accountable to the people, cannot command a single officer in his own state. Something is structurally wrong.”
Oteri pointed to varied, localized threats: “Banditry ravages the North-West. Insurgency persists in the North‑East. The South‑East is restless. Violent crime touches every corner.”
He conceded risks with state policing but insisted safeguards are mandatory. “This does not mean we hand governors private armies. Those concerns are legitimate — and must be met with iron‑clad accountability frameworks, civilian oversight boards, federal minimum standards, and independent inspectorates.
” Decentralisation without accountability is not reform. It is a transfer of danger.”
Linus Igwe, Capoon of Zuma Deck, echoed the urgency: “Nigeria stands at a pivotal moment. Our security challenges have evolved — more complex, more localised, more dynamic. The traditional, centralised model can no longer carry the full weight of modern security realities.”
He urged practical, cooperative models. “We must explore where local knowledge meets national coordination, where state‑level innovation complements federal oversight.”
Retired Assistant Inspector General of Police Austin I. Iwar framed the debate in constitutional and operational terms. “The debate has moved from the margins to the centre of our national conversation,” he said, noting that regional outfits such as Amotekun, Ebubeagu and vigilante groups show decentralisation has already happened informally.
“What the constitutional amendment seeks is to establish a legal and institutional framework to regulate and coordinate these developments.”
Iwar stressed that governors already sit on the Nigeria Police Council and cautioned against assuming new powers alone will fix failures.
“If governors and other members of the Police Council have not effectively utilised powers already available, what assurances exist that granting greater powers will produce better outcomes?” he asked.
Outlining a proposed dual policing model, Iwar said: “Federal Police should retain responsibility for terrorism, transnational organised crime, cybercrime, financial crimes, border security and interstate criminal networks. State Police should handle local crimes and community‑based security challenges.”
He flagged key threats to success: political interference, ethnic bias, intelligence fragmentation, jurisdictional disputes and funding gaps. “Funding may be the greatest practical challenge — some states can afford robust forces, many cannot,” he warned.
Panelists drilled into operational fixes: “Integrated national databases, interoperable communications and intelligence fusion centres are non‑negotiable,” Iwar said, calling for “real‑time information sharing” to prevent fragmentation.
The Feast of Barracuda, the NAS’s annual public discourse, has again pushed state policing from policy pages into public view — pressing lawmakers and citizens alike to decide whether Nigeria will decentralise responsibly or watch its security architecture continue to fray.
