State Police Should Take Effect After 2027 Elections, says Peter Obi
By Ayomikunle Daramola
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has called for the implementation of state police to be postponed until after the 2027 general election.
He warned that the proposed security structure could be vulnerable to political manipulation if introduced without adequate safeguards.
On Wednesday, the senate passed a constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police across the country.
In a statement on Friday, Obi described the passage of the bill by the national assembly as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s search for solutions to insecurity, noting that many Nigerians had long advocated the decentralisation of policing.
He said Nigeria’s size, diversity and security realities make a highly centralised policing system increasingly difficult to sustain.
“The recent passage of the State Police Bill by the National Assembly marks a significant legislative milestone in addressing a long-standing demand of the Nigerian people,” Obi said.
“For years, many of us, alongside security experts and regional stakeholders, have consistently argued that a highly centralised policing structure is fundamentally unsuitable for a country as vast, diverse, and complex as Nigeria.”
However, the former Anambra governor expressed concern about the manner in which the legislation was processed, saying such a sensitive constitutional amendment required broader consultation and public participation.
“The process should involve greater community participation. Policing should be more visible at the local government and community levels. The mechanism for passing the law appears highly disorganised, with no public hearing on such a sensitive issue,” he said.
“Indeed, the rush to enact the law without proper legislative procedures fuels suspicion among many observers about the political motives behind it.”
Obi said his greatest concern was not the operational framework of state police but the possibility that governors could deploy the institution against political opponents.
“The greatest concern does not arise from logistical issues; it stems from history. There is a widespread, justifiable fear that state police forces could become instruments in the hands of governors,” he said.
“The suspicion is that a state-controlled police force could be weaponised to suppress political rivals, disrupt opposition rallies, and manipulate elections.”
To address those concerns, Obi called for the creation of independent oversight mechanisms that would shield state police commands from political control.
“For state policing to evolve from a risky political gamble into a genuine security solution, the law must not only permit states to establish police forces but also clearly provide for independent oversight bodies, such as a state-level Police Service Commission that is entirely free from executive influence,” he said.
Obi added that implementation should be deferred until after the next general election to eliminate any perception that the new policing system could be used to influence the electoral process.
“Going by what Nigerians have seen so far, there is no guarantee that this administration can resist the temptation to take advantage of state policing to influence the 2027 general election by proxy,” Obi said.
“In view of that possibility and the danger it poses to the polity, it is necessary to defer its implementation until after the general election.”
