State Police: Solution to insecurity or political tool for Governors?

The growing excitement surrounding the proposed creation of state police across Nigeria is understandable, given the worsening insecurity confronting the country.

However, many Nigerians may be placing excessive faith in a solution that could ultimately create more problems than it solves.

Nigeria does not merely have a security problem; it has a governance and political will problem.

The assumption that insecurity will disappear simply because a Yoruba officer is policing a Yoruba community, or an Igbo officer is policing an Igbo community, misses the fundamental issue. The challenge has never been about ethnicity or geographical location. It is about leadership, accountability, and the willingness of those in authority to enforce the law without fear or favour.

The same officers currently serving under the federal police structure will, in many cases, form the backbone of any future state police organisations. Simply changing the command structure does not automatically improve professionalism, effectiveness, discipline, or integrity.

Funding also presents a serious challenge.

Many state governments are already struggling to pay salaries, pensions, and fulfil basic developmental obligations. If the responsibility for maintaining police forces is transferred to the states, the financial burden could become overwhelming.

One of the major factors driving corruption within the Nigeria Police Force is poor welfare and inadequate remuneration. If financially constrained states become responsible for paying police personnel, there is a real possibility that welfare conditions could deteriorate further, potentially worsening corruption, extortion, and misconduct.

Supporters of state police argue that it will help address insecurity more effectively. Yet insecurity has persisted despite trillions of naira allocated annually to defence and security agencies.

If the Federal Government, with significantly greater resources, continues to struggle with the problem, it is reasonable to ask how individual states will fund the sophisticated weapons, intelligence infrastructure, surveillance technology, training programmes, and logistics required for effective modern policing.

Security operations are expensive, and many states simply lack the financial capacity to sustain such commitments.

Beyond funding concerns lies an even greater risk: political abuse.

Nigeria’s political environment remains highly polarised, and governors already wield enormous influence within their respective states. Granting direct control of armed security personnel to state governments could create opportunities for abuse.

Political opponents, activists, critics, and opposition parties may become vulnerable to intimidation and harassment. State police could easily become tools for settling political scores, suppressing dissent, and influencing electoral outcomes.

The popular saying remains true: he who pays the piper dictates the tune.

The fear is that some governors may prioritise political survival over public safety, using state police as instruments of control rather than law enforcement. Such a development could weaken democratic institutions and encourage authoritarian tendencies at the sub-national level.

This is not to suggest that the concept of state police is entirely flawed. In many federal systems around the world, decentralised policing works effectively. However, successful policing models depend on strong institutions, independent oversight, robust accountability mechanisms, and a political culture that respects the rule of law.

Nigeria is yet to fully establish many of these safeguards.

Introducing state police under current conditions may be akin to handing over a powerful tool to a system that lacks the institutional maturity required to manage it responsibly. The idea may be sound in theory, but the structures needed to support it remain weak.

The real solution to Nigeria’s insecurity lies not merely in restructuring policing but in addressing the deeper issues of governance, corruption, intelligence gathering, judicial efficiency, border control, economic hardship, and, most importantly, political will.

Ultimately, the responsibility for securing the country rests with its leadership. Until there is genuine commitment to confronting insecurity decisively, structural reforms alone may not deliver the results Nigerians seek.

State police may look attractive on paper, but without strong institutions, effective oversight, and genuine accountability, it risks becoming yet another expensive experiment, one that could leave the country worse off than before.

Put together by Very Nigerian editorial team.

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