By Zainab Bakare
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has thrown its support behind the creation of state police but criticised the Federal Government’s approach to the reform, describing the proposed constitutional amendment as a hurried response to Nigeria’s deepening security challenges rather than a carefully planned institutional overhaul.
In a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party says it has consistently advocated decentralised policing but warned that any such reform must be built on strong safeguards to ensure professionalism, accountability and effective oversight.
The ADC argued that while state police could strengthen Nigeria’s federal structure, it should not be presented as an immediate solution to pressing security threats such as terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
“The African Democratic Congress supports state police. We have always believed that Nigeria’s policing architecture must evolve to reflect the realities of our federal system. But support for state police cannot be confused with support for the Tinubu administration’s handling of this important national reform,” the statement read.
According to the party, the current proposal reflects “a hurried response to a worsening security crisis, not the careful institutional planning required to build a functional, accountable and effective policing system.”
The ADC also rejected suggestions that the initiative represents a groundbreaking policy, noting that state policing has featured in Nigeria’s constitutional debates for decades.
“There is nothing novel about the idea of state police. What is new is the attempt by the Tinubu administration to package this long-standing national consensus as a bold new initiative and, worse, to present it as a silver bullet for the country’s current security crisis,” the statement added.
The party maintained that decentralised policing is a long-term structural reform whose benefits would emerge gradually and cannot, on its own, resolve Nigeria’s immediate security concerns.
It further criticised the speed with which the constitutional amendment is being pursued at the National Assembly, insisting that reforms with far-reaching implications require extensive public consultation and stakeholder engagement.
“Legislation with such far-reaching implications for every Nigerian, and one that could fundamentally alter the country’s constitutional architecture, requires broad consultation and careful reflection,” the ADC stated.
The party also questioned the timing of the initiative, asking why the administration waited until this stage of its tenure to advance the proposal if it had always been a priority.
It stressed that even if the amendment is approved, establishing effective state police forces would demand significant investment in recruitment, training, funding, equipment, operational structures and independent oversight mechanisms.
According to the ADC, these foundational requirements cannot be achieved overnight and must be carefully planned to ensure that any decentralised policing system is effective, accountable and sustainable.
