Governors Forum Pushes State Police Proposal to the National Assembly in Nigeria

The long-standing battle over the control of security in Nigeria has reached a critical turning point as the Nigeria Governors’ Forum prepares to hand over a formal proposal for the establishment of state-controlled police forces.

Kwara State Governor and Forum Chairman Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq confirmed the move following a high-profile strategy session with President Bola Tinubu at the president’s Lagos residence. This legislative push aims to dismantle the current centralized security architecture in favor of a decentralized system that gives individual states the power to manage their own law enforcement.

While the proposal is currently being refined by the National Security Adviser, Governor AbdulRazaq emphasized that the governors have already submitted their formal contributions to the document. The next step involves presenting the framework to the National Assembly to initiate the necessary constitutional amendments.

According to the Governor, the shift is essential for state governments to better collaborate with security forces, defeat persistent terrorism, and protect the welfare of citizens who have long suffered from the country’s security vacuum.

President Tinubu has emerged as a vocal advocate for this shift, recently urging federal lawmakers to prioritize the constitutional changes required to take back Nigeria’s forests from bandits and kidnappers.

The President argued that localizing police power is the only way to free Nigerian children from the pervasive fear of abduction. With banditry and insurgency continuing to ravage various regions, the administration views this move as a pragmatic solution to a national emergency.

However, the proposal remains a lightning rod for controversy. While supporters believe state police will lead to faster response times and better local intelligence, skeptics warn of a potential return to autocracy.

Critics argue that without ironclad legal safeguards, powerful governors could easily weaponize local police units to intimidate political rivals and suppress dissent. For this plan to become reality, it must survive the scrutiny of the National Assembly and receive the blessing of two-thirds of the state houses of assembly across the federation.