State Police Legislation Rushed, Can’t End Insecurity – ADC Knocks Tinubu

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticized the manner in which the legislation backing the creation of State Police was handled by the federal government.

The ADC, in a statement on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the process was rushed through the National Assembly.

He added that the process demonstrates panic on the part of President Bola Tinubu.

The party clarified that while it supports the idea of State Police, it has always believed that Nigeria’s policing architecture must evolve to reflect the realities of the country’s federal system, but support for state police cannot be confused with support for the Tinubu administration’s handling of this important national reform.

NEWSNGR recalls that the Senate on Wednesday, passed the State Police bill.

Abdullahi said what Nigerians are witnessing is a hurried response to a worsening security crisis, not the careful institutional planning required to build a functional, accountable, and effective policing system.

According to him, State police is too important, and the security of Nigerians too urgent, to be reduced to a quick legislative fix or rushed through the National Assembly without the broad consultation such a far-reaching reform demands.

The ADC added that the idea of State Police is not original to the Tinubu government, and its rushed implementation raises further questions about its purpose and ability to address Nigeria’s security challenges.

“It is equally important to state that there is nothing novel about the idea of state police. Decentralised policing has been part of Nigeria’s constitutional and political conversation for decades and today enjoys broad national support. What is new is the attempt by the Tinubu administration to package this long-standing national consensus as a bold new initiative and, worse, to present it as a silver bullet for the country’s current security crisis. It is neither. State police is a structural reform whose benefits will only be realised over time. It cannot, by itself, solve today’s emergency.

That is why the apparent rush to push this legislation through the National Assembly, without the broad consultation and public engagement that a constitutional reform of this magnitude requires, is both unnecessary and potentially counterproductive. Legislation with such far-reaching implications for every Nigerian, and one that could fundamentally alter the country’s constitutional architecture, requires broad consultation and careful reflection. Instead, what we are are seeing is a government in desperate haste to amend the Constitution in order to create the impression that it is doing something about the country’s worsening insecurity,” the statement noted.

The party questioned why President Tinubu chose such a time to pursue the implementation of the State Police structure in Nigeria.

It also expressed concerns about setting up recruitment, vetting, training, equipment, funding, command structures, operational guidelines, and independent oversight for state policing.

The party cautioned against creating another institution that may become vulnerable to abuse.

“After all, if President Tinubu were genuinely committed to state police, why did it take his administration almost until the end of its tenure to begin rushing through a constitutional amendment?

“Nevertheless, passing a law is only the beginning, and probably the easiest part, of a complex process. Recruitment, vetting, training, equipment, funding, command structures, operational guidelines, and independent oversight cannot be created overnight, especially as the country approaches another election cycle. Meanwhile, terrorists, kidnappers, and bandits will not suspend their activities while new institutions are being assembled. Nigerians deserve reforms that are carefully designed to succeed, not reforms designed merely to create the impression that the government is doing something.

“The government’s approach also leaves fundamental questions unanswered. What safeguards will prevent state police from becoming instruments of political intimidation? What guarantees exist for genuinely independent state legislatures and judiciaries capable of exercising meaningful oversight? Who will regulate recruitment, deployment, discipline and funding? Where are the accompanying reforms to prosecution, correctional services, forensic capacity and intelligence coordination? These are not secondary questions. They are the difference between building a professional police service and creating another institution that may be vulnerable to abuse,” the ADC warned.