State Police Must Not Become Tools For Electoral Manipulation – Obi

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 general election, Peter Obi, has described the passage of the State Police Bill by the National Assembly as a commendable step towards addressing Nigeria’s worsening security challenges but cautioned against what he termed a disorderly legislative process and the potential for political abuse.

In a statement posted on his verified social media accounts on Friday, Obi said Nigerians had long advocated the decentralisation of policing, arguing that the country’s highly centralised security architecture was ill-suited to its size, diversity and complex security realities.

He noted that while the bill represented a significant legislative milestone, the constitutional and implementation framework remained shaky and required broader public participation.

“The process should involve greater community participation. Policing should be more visible at the local government and community levels. The mechanism for passing the law appears highly disorganised, with no public hearing on such a sensitive issue,” Obi stated.

According to him, the speed with which the legislation was enacted without wider consultations had fuelled suspicions about the political motives behind the move.

“The rush to enact the law without proper legislative procedures fuels suspicion among many observers about the political motives behind it,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor stressed that the major concern surrounding state police was not logistics but the possibility of political manipulation by state governors.

“There is a widespread, justifiable fear that state police forces could become instruments in the hands of governors. The suspicion is that a state-controlled police force could be weaponised to suppress political rivals, disrupt opposition rallies and manipulate elections,” he said.

Obi argued that for the reform to succeed, the law must establish strong and independent oversight mechanisms insulated from executive control.

“For state policing to evolve from a risky political gamble into a genuine security solution, the law must not only permit states to establish police forces but also clearly provide for independent oversight bodies, such as state-level Police Service Commissions that are entirely free from executive influence, to ensure that policing serves the public interest rather than the interests of the ruling elite,” he stated.

He further expressed concerns over the possibility of the new policing arrangement being exploited ahead of the 2027 general election.

“Going by what Nigerians have seen so far, there is no guarantee that this administration can resist the temptation to take advantage of state policing to influence the 2027 general election by proxy,” Obi said.

The NDC presidential candidate therefore called for the implementation of state police to be deferred until after the 2027 elections to preserve public confidence in the democratic process.

“In view of that possibility and the danger it poses to the polity, it is necessary to defer its implementation until after the general election,” he added.