ADC Says State Police Can’t Work Without Institutional Preparedness

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the President Bola Tinubu administration’s push for state police, describing it as a rushed and politically motivated response to Nigeria’s worsening security challenges rather than a carefully planned constitutional reform.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party said it supports the establishment of state police but warned that the initiative would fail without the institutional safeguards, oversight mechanisms and broader reforms required for an effective decentralised policing system.

The party maintained that state police remains an important component of Nigeria’s long-term constitutional restructuring but rejected what it described as the Federal Government’s attempt to present it as an immediate solution to the country’s growing insecurity.

“We have always believed that Nigeria’s policing architecture must evolve to reflect the realities of our federal system,” the ADC said. “But support for state police cannot be confused with support for the Tinubu administration’s handling of this important national reform.”

According to the party, “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.”

The ADC argued that decentralised policing has long enjoyed national support and should not be portrayed as a new initiative by the current administration.

“It is equally important to state that there is nothing novel about the idea of state police,” the statement said. “State police is a structural reform whose benefits will only be realised over time. It cannot, by itself, solve today’s emergency.”

The party also faulted the speed with which the legislation is being pursued, insisting that constitutional reforms of such magnitude require extensive public consultation.

“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,” it stated.

Questioning the administration’s timing, the ADC asked: “After all, if President Tinubu were genuinely committed to state police, why did it take his administration almost until the end of its tenure to begin rushing through a constitutional amendment?”

The opposition party further argued that passing the law represents only the first step in a much larger process, warning that critical elements such as recruitment, training, funding, command structures, intelligence coordination and independent oversight cannot be established overnight.

“Passing a law is only the beginning, and probably the easiest part, of a complex process,” the statement noted. “Recruitment, vetting, training, equipment, funding, command structures, operational guidelines, and independent oversight cannot be created overnight.”

The ADC also raised concerns over the potential abuse of state police, asking what mechanisms would prevent governors from using the proposed forces for political intimidation and what guarantees existed for independent oversight.

“What safeguards will prevent state police from becoming instruments of political intimidation? What guarantees exist for genuinely independent state legislatures and judiciaries capable of exercising meaningful oversight?” it queried.

The party stressed that reforming the Nigeria Police Force should remain a priority, warning that creating another policing layer without fixing existing structural deficiencies would merely duplicate weaknesses rather than improve national security.

Reaffirming its position, the ADC said its manifesto supports a multi-layered policing framework comprising federal, state and community police, backed by clearly defined jurisdictions, enforceable national standards and independent oversight institutions.

It added that effective policing must be accompanied by reforms in the judiciary, correctional services, intelligence coordination, forensic capacity and prosecution.

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

The ADC pledged to continue supporting reforms that genuinely strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture while opposing what it described as attempts to substitute institution-building with political theatre.

End