State Police Reform ‘Rushed, Politically Driven’ – ADC

Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting 

THE African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the Tinubu administration’s push for state police, describing it as a rushed and politically motivated response to Nigeria’s worsening insecurity crisis rather than a carefully considered institutional reform.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party affirmed its support for the creation of state police in principle, but warned that the reform cannot succeed without the institutional preparedness and safeguards necessary to make it effective.

The ADC cautioned against treating legislation as a “silver bullet” for the country’s security challenges, insisting that comprehensive police reform, independent oversight, judicial autonomy, correctional services, and intelligence coordination must be strengthened alongside any decentralised policing framework to prevent abuse and ensure lasting security.

“What we are witnessing is a hurried response to a worsening security crisis, not the careful institutional planning required to build a functional, accountable, and effective policing system,” Abdullahi stated.

“State police is too important, and the security of Nigerians too urgent, to be reduced to a quick legislative fix or rushed through the National Assembly without the broad consultation such a far-reaching reform demands.”

The party noted that decentralised policing has been part of Nigeria’s constitutional conversation for decades and enjoys broad national support, but argued that the current administration’s attempt to package this long-standing consensus as a bold new initiative was disingenuous.

“State police is a structural reform whose benefits will only be realised over time. It cannot, by itself, solve today’s emergency,” the statement read.

The ADC questioned the timing of the legislative push, noting that if President Tinubu were genuinely committed to state police, it should not have taken his administration almost until the end of its tenure to begin rushing through a constitutional amendment.

“Passing a law is only the beginning, and probably the easiest part, of a complex process,” the party warned. “Recruitment, vetting, training, equipment, funding, command structures, operational guidelines, and independent oversight cannot be created overnight, especially as the country approaches another election cycle.”

The party raised fundamental concerns about safeguards to prevent state police from becoming instruments of political intimidation, questioning what guarantees exist for genuinely independent state legislatures and judiciaries capable of exercising meaningful oversight.

“Who will regulate recruitment, deployment, discipline and funding? Where are the accompanying reforms to prosecution, correctional services, forensic capacity and intelligence coordination?” the statement asked.

“These are not secondary questions. They are the difference between building a professional police service and creating another institution that may be vulnerable to abuse.”

Equally concerning, the ADC argued, was the impression that state police was being presented as a substitute for reforming the Nigeria Police Force.

“The federal police will continue to bear primary responsibility for national security, counterterrorism, interstate crime and intelligence coordination.

“If the structural deficiencies of the existing police are left unaddressed, creating another policing layer simply duplicates weakness instead of multiplying effectiveness,” the party warned.

The ADC reaffirmed its manifesto commitment to a multi-layered policing framework built on federal, state and community policing, with clearly defined jurisdictions, enforceable national standards, independent oversight and stronger community intelligence.

“Security is too serious to be treated as another political posturing. Nigerians deserve reforms that are carefully designed and institutionally sound, not reforms driven by political urgency or public relations considerations,” the statement concluded.

The party declared it would support measures that genuinely strengthen Nigeria’s security but would continue to oppose “every attempt to substitute the hard work of building institutions capable of keeping Nigerians safe with mere political theatre.”