Nigeria’s escalating insecurity, marked by banditry, insurgency, and kidnappings, has reignited debates on state policing as a potential solution.
President Bola Tinubu recently urged the Senate to amend the constitution for its establishment, highlighting the need for localized responses to threats.
While governors overwhelmingly support it amid federal police failures, deep concerns over abuse and capacity persist.
Nigeria faces a deteriorating security outlook in 2026, with banditry in the North-West, insurgency spillovers from the Sahel, and ungoverned spaces enabling non-state actors.
The centralized Nigeria Police Force (NPF) struggles due to personnel shortages, corruption—perceived by 70% of citizens—and inadequate resources.
Overstretched and inefficient, the NPF has failed to secure vast territories, prompting calls for decentralization as community outfits like Amotekun show localized promise.
The NPF’s inefficiencies stem from corruption, poor training, outdated equipment, and political interference, as evidenced by events like prison breaks and mass kidnappings.
Nigeria’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index score stalled at 26/100, underscoring systemic graft that hampers operations.
Governors like Zamfara’s Dauda Lawal note they track bandits but lack operational control, as federal commands from Abuja delay responses.
Proponents argue state police would leverage local knowledge for better community relations, accountability, and rapid threat response, complementing federal forces. Nearly all 36 governors back it, with President Tinubu pushing constitutional tweaks for neutrality and frameworks, inspired by civilian JTF successes.
Regional models like Amotekun in the Southwest have reduced crimes effectively, suggesting scalability.
Critics, including IGP Kayode Egbetokun, warn Nigeria lacks maturity for state police, fearing governors’ abuse for political gains, human rights violations, and ethnic tensions.
Many states grapple with debts over N5.75 trillion and no budgeted provisions, raising funding viability doubts without federal revenue adjustments. Without safeguards, it could replicate NPF flaws at subnational levels.
Establishing state police requires amending Sections 214-217 of the 1999 Constitution to delineate federal-state roles and funding. Bills propose federal grants, but states’ recurrent spending—N8.77 trillion of N16.15 trillion budgets—strains capacity.
Success in Africa, like Rwanda’s community policing, demands integrity and resources Nigeria’s governors may lack amid corruption.
Nigeria urgently needs policing reform amid insecurity, but state police risks entrenching authoritarianism without robust oversight, funding, and anti-abuse mechanisms.
President Tinubu’s momentum offers hope, yet maturity in governance and finances is prerequisite; premature rollout could exacerbate divisions rather than resolve them.