“Why I supported State Police Bill” – Senator Ali Ndume

The lawmaker representing the Borno South Senatorial District has explained the reason for his support for the State Police Establishment Bill, which the Senate passed on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.

Ndume, while speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time hours, after the upper chamber approved the constitutional amendment allowing states to establish and manage their own police forces alongside the federal Nigeria Police Force.

Ndume disclosed that consultations, including a committee’s engagement with state governors, helped build consensus around the reform.

“Deeply, you know, close by close, we made contact and even a small committee even visited the governors sat down and agreed that, ‘yes’,” Ndume said.

He cited two primary reasons for his total support for the bill.

According to the lawmaker, the first is the severe manpower shortage in the existing federal police structure.

“The total number of police officers in Nigeria is less than 400,000. In fact, I am not sure of the figure, but it is nothing to write home about,” Ndume stated.

He noted that Nigeria, with a population exceeding 200 million, requires a minimum of one million police personnel for effective coverage.

The senator referred to international policing standards, pointing out that Nigeria falls short of the United Nations benchmark, of a range of 200 to 400 officers per 100,000 people.

His second argument centred on the inefficiencies of a centralised policing system in a vast and diverse country like Nigeria.

“A vast country like Nigeria, if you have decentralised policing under one IGP controlled by the centre, not decentralising it, it will never be effective, and that is where we find ourselves.

“So, I don’t see anything wrong with having a decentralised police system, that is to say, the State Police, and the state governor, who is, on one hand, the Chief Security Officer in any case,” Ndume added.