State Police Reform Must Be Matched With Strong Safeguards, Security Advocate Warns
Nigeria’s move towards state policing has been welcomed as a significant constitutional reform, but concerns are mounting that weak safeguards could undermine its intended benefits and expose the system to political abuse.
President of the International Peace and Civic Responsibility Centre (IPCRC), Prince Chris Azor, said while decentralised policing is consistent with global best practice and could improve local security, the current constitutional amendment leaves critical gaps that must be addressed before implementation.
Azor warned that inadequate funding, unclear operational boundaries between federal and state police, weak accountability mechanisms and the absence of independent civilian oversight could create a policing system vulnerable to political interference and abuse.
Drawing parallels with the performance of State Independent Electoral Commissions and local government autonomy, he argued that Nigeria’s challenge is not the absence of institutions but weak constitutional discipline and accountability.
He called on the National Assembly to strengthen the proposed framework by guaranteeing sustainable funding, defining federal and state policing responsibilities, ensuring merit-based appointments, creating constitutional roles for civil society and establishing independent oversight bodies.
According to him, state policing should form part of broader security sector reforms addressing intelligence, manpower, technology and personnel welfare, stressing that without robust safeguards, the reform could deepen rather than solve Nigeria’s security challenges.
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