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By Okechukwu Nwanguma
The concerns raised by Peter Obi over the implementation of the State Police Bill before the 2027 general elections deserve serious attention. Whether one supports or opposes state policing, the circumstances surrounding the passage of the Bill and the prevailing political climate provide legitimate grounds for caution.
It is important to recall that this is an Executive Bill. Like the Executive Bill that sought to amend the Police Act to extend the tenure of a favoured Inspector-General of Police, this Bill was rushed through the National Assembly with unusual speed. It was reportedly passed within minutes, in a single sitting, and without the benefit of a public hearing or broad stakeholder consultation.
Such a process is inconsistent with democratic lawmaking, particularly for legislation that seeks to fundamentally alter Nigeria’s policing architecture. A reform of this magnitude demands transparency, robust debate, and public participation. The absence of these safeguards naturally fuels suspicion.
As legal scholar and human rights advocate Chidi Odinkalu observed:
«”They say Nigeria needs State Police to work. And to do that, the Nigerian Senate has passed a bill for that purpose in minutes, without publishing the Bill and with no Public Hearing. The plan is transparent—to establish State Police before NigeriaDecides2027 and hand governors of APC lawful militias.”»
Whether one agrees entirely with that assessment or not, it reflects concerns shared by many Nigerians across political divides.
Peter Obi has therefore called for the implementation of the State Police law to be deferred until after the 2027 general elections. His position is not a rejection of state policing. Indeed, he acknowledges that Nigeria’s highly centralised policing structure is no longer adequate to address the country’s complex security challenges.
His concern is about timing, process, and safeguards.
The fear is that, under the current political circumstances, newly established state police forces could become instruments of partisan control. Governors—or even the federal government through political influence over aligned state governments—could deploy them to intimidate opponents, suppress dissent, disrupt opposition campaigns, and manipulate the electoral environment.
These fears are not imaginary. Nigeria’s history provides ample examples of the abuse of security institutions for political purposes. Even the Nigeria Police Force, despite being federally controlled, has often been accused of selective enforcement, political bias, and interference in elections. Creating another policing structure without first establishing strong institutional safeguards merely risks decentralising the abuse rather than solving it.
This is why safeguards matter as much as the creation of state police itself.
Any state police system must be insulated from executive manipulation through genuinely independent State Police Service Commissions, transparent recruitment processes, professional command structures, independent complaints mechanisms, judicial oversight, and clear constitutional guarantees against political interference. These institutions must exist in practice, not merely on paper.
The haste with which the Bill was enacted raises legitimate questions about whether sufficient attention has been paid to these critical safeguards.
State policing remains an important and arguably necessary reform for Nigeria. However, reforms intended to strengthen democracy should never be implemented in ways that undermine democratic confidence.
Peter Obi’s concerns should therefore not be dismissed as partisan politics. They reflect broader anxieties shared by many civil society organisations, constitutional lawyers, security experts, and ordinary Nigerians who support police decentralisation but fear its potential abuse in the absence of credible institutional safeguards.
If the objective is genuinely to improve security rather than create new instruments of political control, then implementation should inspire public confidence. That confidence can only be built through transparency, broad consultation, effective oversight, and the assurance that state police will serve citizens—not politicians.
In that respect, Peter Obi’s fears are not only understandable; they are founded and legitimate.
Okechukwu Nwanguma, is Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC)
