State Police Gains Momentum as Defence Chief, Governors Push Constitutional Overhaul to Tackle Nigeria’s Insecurity

Nigeria’s push for the creation of state police gathered fresh momentum on Thursday as top government officials, security experts, governors, lawmakers and international stakeholders united in Abuja to advocate sweeping reforms aimed at addressing the country’s deepening security crisis.

The growing support emerged during the ARISE News and THISDAY Town Hall on State Police and National Security, where participants argued that Nigeria’s current centralised policing structure is no longer sufficient to tackle terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal violence and other organised crimes. While many endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment, they stressed that strong legal safeguards, sustainable funding, accountability mechanisms and community participation would determine its success.

The renewed debate comes just days after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, tasked with preparing the legal framework for state policing following the Senate’s passage of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026.

If approved, the constitutional amendment will transfer policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List, allowing individual states to establish and operate their own police services under a nationally regulated framework.

Speaking during one of the panel sessions, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, said defeating terrorism requires more than military force, insisting that lasting peace can only be achieved through a combination of security operations, intelligence gathering, dialogue and community engagement.

“You must be able to bring the kinetic and the non-kinetic working together,” Musa said.

The Defence Chief explained that members of the armed forces operate under clearly defined rules of engagement and receive professional training before deployment to help them distinguish between terrorists, bandits and innocent civilians during operations.

He admitted, however, that asymmetric warfare remains particularly challenging because insurgents often blend into local communities, making it difficult for security agencies to identify genuine threats.

“Members of the armed forces have their rules of engagement. Once you are deployed out for an operation, you are allowed to take out the enemy using the standards.

“As professionals, we train our troops before deploying them. And once they are deployed, they are able to identify who is a bandit, who is a terrorist, and who is a civilian,” he said.

Drawing lessons from international conflicts, Musa noted that countries battling insurgencies often spend decades before achieving significant progress. He cited Turkey’s prolonged campaign against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as evidence that military action alone cannot resolve complex security challenges.

“If you see worldwide, anywhere there’s asymmetric warfare, it takes a very long while before those things are coming.

“In Turkey, they’ve been dealing with the PKK for over 40 years. It is just of recent, they are beginning together, and because they had to use the kinetic and the non-kinetic.”

The Defence Chief argued that military operations contribute only a fraction of what is required to end insurgency, emphasising that dialogue, reconciliation, intelligence gathering and community cooperation remain the strongest tools for achieving lasting peace.

“No country can shoot itself to peace. The kinetic aspect is based about 25 to 30 per cent. The non-kinetic, which has to do with dialogue, discussion, understanding,” he said.

Musa also urged communities to actively support security agencies with credible intelligence, noting that terrorists often rely on local networks for shelter, logistics and information.

“These terrorists live within the communities.

“If the communities are on their side, it makes it difficult for the security forces to win the battle. And if the communities are with the security forces, it makes it a lot easier.”

Adding an international perspective, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak endorsed Nigeria’s move towards state policing, describing decentralised law enforcement as a practical solution capable of improving security if backed by strong legislation and effective federal oversight.

Barak acknowledged concerns that governors could misuse state police for political purposes but maintained that robust constitutional safeguards and clear accountability measures could minimise such risks while making policing more responsive to local realities.