Killings Highlight Critical Need for Instant Action on State Police

The legislature must act fast to equip states with capacity to stabilise security within their territories, writes Vincent Obia

As residents of Jos marked Palm Sunday on March 29, gunmen struck, in an attack replete with all the hallmarks of the enduring cycle of violence in Plateau State.

The attack in Angwan Rukuba community, Jos North Local Government Area, left more than 30 persons dead, with many more injured.

Eye witnesses said the assailants rode on motorcycles, exposing the proximity of the attackers to their victims, and laying bare the gathering storm of demand for local policing.

President Bola Tinubu, who visited Plateau State in the aftermath of the murders, directed increased security presence and surveillance systems, vowing, “I promise you that this experience will not repeat itself.”

But more bloody assaults followed in several states within 48-72 hours of the president’s April 2 condolence visit to Plateau State, challenging his vow. 

There were fresh attacks on April 3 in Nyamgo Gyel, Jos South Local Government Area, by armed men, who were said to have ambushed their victims, resulting in fatalities. On Easter Sunday, April 5, armed bandits attacked churches in Ariko community, Kaduna State, leading to deaths and abductions of worshippers.

There were also reports of attacks in Benue and Nasarawa states, which resulted in killings.

Chairman of Berom Youth Moulder Association, Solomon Dalyop, said, following the April 3 attack, “We were informed about suspicious movements around Gero, Rafin Bauna, and Dutsen Kura, and we warned our people to be vigilant.”

Dalyop warned that armed groups were taking over bushes in Plateau State. This is the experience in many states.

In several of the incidents, locals could trace the trail of the attackers through the woods. But they are handicapped by the farness of the security agencies, despite the dangerous nearness of the assailants to the communities.

The forest guards recently established by the federal government have proved too ill-equipped to confront the emerging security challenges.

That is why Tinubu’s ramp-up of his pre-2023 promise of state police in the country is widely seen as a major intervention in the Nigerian security dilemma.

The president told an interfaith breaking of the fast meeting in Aso Rock in February, “We will establish state police to curb insecurity. This is not about politics; it is about practicality.

“It is about empowering states with the tools to protect their people while strengthening our national framework.”

Tinubu added, “We must be bold enough to reform what is not working. We must be united enough to protect what we hold dear.”

The National Economic Council (NEC) announced in December 2024 that all the 36 states had submitted their status reports on state police, with an overwhelming majority, including the 19 northern states, backing the idea. Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani stated at the time that only the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was yet to submit its position on the subnational policing arrangement.

The states called for constitutional amendments to allow for state police to tackle banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping.

The Nigeria Police, too, has actively supported the state police arrangement, with Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu describing it as “inevitable”.

Disu has submitted a framework on state police to the senate. He constituted a committee to develop a comprehensive framework for the new police structure.

Special adviser on media and publicity to Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, Ismail Mudashir, said in a release on March 26 that the “Nigeria Police Force’s input on the subject matter” of state police was presented to Jibrin by chairman of the police committee constituted to examine modalities for the establishment of the policing arrangement, Professor Olu Ogunsakin.

Disu stated that the report, “Covers the considered views, professional insights, and strategic recommendations of the force, derived from extensive consultations and a careful assessment of the operational, legal, and administrative implications of instituting state police in Nigeria.”

The 75-page document submitted to the deputy senate president, who is also Chairman of the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, contains modalities on devolution of power, accountability mechanisms, and modernisation of the policing system in line with global best practices.

Across the country, focus is shifting from fears of state police as a dangerous accession to the tyranny of state governors to its acceptance as a necessary tool for combating security threats, which are mostly localised.

The spotlight is currently on the National Assembly to galvanise the extensive support for state police into practical reforms for decentralised policing in its amendment of the 1999 Constitution.

The proposed policing system requires approval from Senate and House of Representatives, as well as ratification by at least two-thirds of the 36 state assemblies to be enacted. 

Leader of the Senate and Vice Chairman of Senate Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, confirmed in March that the National Assembly was developing a legislative framework for the setting up of state police.

Bamidele stated, “The parliament is committed to drafting a framework for a decentralised police model that will serve the interests of all, regardless of their status.”

He assured that the new policing structure would include exhaustive “guardrails” to prevent abuse by politicians.

As members of the National Assembly settle down to their work after the Easter break, Nigerians will be expecting robust action on the constitutional reforms needed to deliver the much-desired policing structure.

Tinubu may not have difficulty getting the proposed policing system approved by the federal and state legislatures. But it is doubtful if the government can push the changes through before the general election next year.

Some Nigerians also nurse reservations about the seriousness of Tinubu’s state police drive, amid the looming presidential poll, where he would be seeking a second term.

Lawyer and chieftain of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, echoed the doubts recently, when he said on a national television programme, “I told you that state police will not come. Tinubu will continue to play the politics of it. Tinubu is incapable of solving the insecurity problem.”

It is now up to the president and his All Progressives Congress (APC), which has an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly, and more than 30 state governors, to prove the critics wrong through their actions on the state police question.