Senator Adams Oshiomhole has renewed calls for the establishment of state police in Nigeria, arguing that the country’s current centralised policing structure undermines accountability and weakens efforts to tackle growing insecurity across the federation.
Speaking during the ARISE NEWS Town Hall on State Police, the former governor of Edo State said it was both unfair and illogical to designate governors as the chief security officers of their states while denying them operational authority over the police. According to him, the existing arrangement leaves state governments responsible for funding security operations without granting them the constitutional powers to recruit, deploy, supervise or discipline police personnel.
Oshiomhole described the situation as a fundamental contradiction within Nigeria’s federal system, insisting that genuine accountability can only exist when those entrusted with maintaining security also possess the authority to make operational decisions.
Addressing concerns that state police could be exploited by governors to intimidate political opponents or suppress dissent, the senator dismissed such fears as misplaced. He argued that abuse of power is not unique to a decentralised policing system, noting that similar allegations have been made under the country’s existing centrally controlled police structure.
“The possibility of abuse should not become an excuse to reject necessary reforms,” Oshiomhole said, stressing that the appropriate response is to strengthen democratic institutions, legal safeguards and public oversight capable of holding leaders accountable at every level of government.
He maintained that decentralising policing would enhance intelligence gathering, improve response times to local security threats and create a clearer chain of responsibility between elected leaders and the citizens they serve. He further argued that state police would bring Nigeria’s security architecture into closer alignment with the principles of federalism enshrined in the nation’s Constitution.
Calling for decisive legislative action, Oshiomhole urged the National Assembly and other stakeholders to move beyond prolonged debates and take concrete steps towards establishing state police, describing the reform as a necessary response to the country’s evolving security challenges.
His remarks add to the growing national conversation over constitutional reforms aimed at addressing Nigeria’s persistent security concerns through a more decentralised policing framework.
