By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN
(Constitutional Principles and Institutional Safeguards for State Policing in Nigeria)
Human Rights
Human rights should be regarded as a central objective of democratic policing rather than a constraint upon it. The purpose of policing is to protect life, liberty, dignity and security while maintaining public order. State Police institutions should therefore be guided by the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination, with human rights protections embedded in recruitment, training, operations and accountability systems.
National Cohesion
The decentralisation of policing should strengthen rather than weaken the unity of the Federation. State Police should enhance local responsiveness while operating within a common constitutional framework and shared national standards. The objective is not to create thirty-six isolated policing systems but a coordinated national architecture in which federal and state institutions complement one another.
Taken together, these principles provide the framework for evaluating the constitutional, legislative and institutional choices that will shape the future of State Police in Nigeria. They underscore a central reality: the success of policing reform will be determined not merely by where authority is located, but by how that authority is exercised, constrained and held accountable in service of the Nigerian people.
II. Constitutional Design: Balancing State Autonomy and National Cohesion
The introduction of State Police requires more than the transfer of policing powers from the Exclusive Legislative List to the states. It requires a constitutional architecture that balances state autonomy with national cohesion.
The objective should be to strengthen local security governance while preserving national security, constitutional integrity and coordinated law enforcement across the Federation.
The Constitution should establish a clear division of responsibilities between Federal and State policing institutions. Federal Police should retain exclusive responsibility for:
Terrorism and counterterrorism;
Treason and offences against the state;
Interstate organised crime;
Transnational criminal networks;
Border security;
Cybercrime of national significance;
Protection of federal assets and institutions; and
Crimes affecting national security.
These functions require specialised capabilities, interstate coordination and national oversight.
State Police should primarily focus on:
Community safety;
Local law enforcement;
Public order;
Enforcement of state laws;
Crime prevention; and
Local intelligence gathering.
Their principal advantage lies in proximity to communities, local knowledge and responsiveness to local security concerns.
However, jurisdictional clarity alone will not guarantee effectiveness. Many security threats cut across state boundaries and require coordinated responses. The National Policing Bill should therefore establish mandatory frameworks for intelligence sharing, joint operations, interoperable information systems, cross-jurisdictional investigations, dispute resolution and federal-state operational coordination.
The objective should not be the creation of competing police institutions but a coordinated national policing architecture that combines local responsiveness with national security effectiveness.
III. Constitutional Safeguards Against
Political, Ethnic, Religious and Sectional Capture
The greatest risk associated with State Police is not decentralisation itself but capture. The central challenge is ensuring that policing institutions remain accountable to the Constitution and the rule of law rather than to political, ethnic, religious or sectional interests. Because police institutions exercise powers of arrest, detention, investigation and the lawful use of force, their legitimacy depends on public confidence that those powers will be exercised fairly and impartially.
The constitutionalisation of State Police must therefore be accompanied by explicit safeguards against discrimination and domination.
Sections 14(4) and 42 of the Constitution provide an appropriate foundation. Section 14(4) requires state institutions to reflect diversity and prevent sectional domination, while Section 42 prohibits discrimination on grounds including ethnicity, religion, community, place of origin and political opinion.
Accordingly, the Constitution and National Policing Bill should require:
Diversity and representativeness in recruitment and promotion;
Protection of minority ethnic and religious communities;
Gender inclusion requirements;
Transparent deployment policies;
Prohibition of ethnic profiling;
Prohibition of discriminatory policing practices; and
Public reporting on diversity indicators.
Importantly, recruitment should be based on residency, merit and competence rather than indigeneity. State Police should be institutions of constitutional citizenship rather than instruments of ethnic, religious or partisan control. Their legitimacy will ultimately depend on whether all communities regard them as fair, impartial and equally protective of their rights.
IV. Governance, Oversight and Accountability
Strong policing requires strong accountability institutions. The decentralisation of policing authority must therefore be accompanied by the decentralisation of oversight and redress mechanisms.
Every State Police Service should be supervised by an independent State Police Service Commission responsible for recruitment, promotion, discipline, professional standards and human resource management. Appointments should involve multiple institutions and include representatives of civil society, the legal profession and retired security professionals. Commissioners should enjoy security of tenure to safeguard independence.
Each state should also establish an Independent Police Complaints Authority with powers to receive complaints, conduct investigations, recommend sanctions, refer criminal conduct for prosecution and publish periodic reports. These bodies must be adequately funded and legally empowered to compel cooperation.
State Houses of Assembly should establish dedicated policing and public safety committees responsible for reviewing budgets, performance reports, accountability records and human rights compliance.
State Police Services should be legally required to publish annual reports, budget information, procurement data, crime statistics and complaints records. Transparency should be a statutory obligation rather than an administrative choice.
V. Professional Recruitment, Vetting, Training and Doctrine
The quality of policing ultimately depends on the quality of police officers. State Police should therefore be viewed not only as a constitutional reform but also as a long-term professionalisation project.
The National Policing Bill should establish mandatory national standards for recruitment, training and professional conduct.
All recruits should undergo criminal record screening, financial integrity assessments, human rights vetting, psychological evaluation and community character verification. These safeguards are essential to ensuring that individuals entrusted with coercive powers possess the integrity and temperament required for democratic policing.
National training standards should cover criminal investigations, intelligence gathering, community policing, human rights, evidence management, digital forensics, election security and conflict resolution. Training should be continuous throughout an officer’s career.
The Federal Government should also establish a common policing doctrine governing the use of force, arrest and detention, public order management, investigative standards and the treatment of detainees. Shared doctrine will help maintain consistent professional standards across federal and state institutions.
The establishment of State Police will require substantial investment in training infrastructure, specialised academies and instructor development. Professionalism cannot be legislated into existence; it must be systematically built.
VI. Community-Centred Policing
The purpose of State Police should not be merely to transfer policing authority from Abuja to state capitals. The objective should be to bring policing closer to citizens and strengthen public participation in security governance.
A truly federal policing system must be anchored in communities rather than government offices. Accordingly, every State Police Service should establish:
Community Safety Councils;
Local Security Advisory Committees;
Citizen feedback mechanisms;
Public complaint platforms;
Community policing plans; and
Annual public consultations.
These mechanisms would improve trust, strengthen intelligence gathering and support collaborative problem-solving between police institutions and communities.
States should also conduct periodic public confidence surveys and publish the results. Ultimately, the legitimacy of State Police will depend not only on crime statistics but on whether citizens feel safer, heard and respected. Effective policing is as much about public trust as it is about law enforcement.
VII. Human Rights and Democratic Safeguards
The legitimacy of policing depends on respect for rights. Police institutions exercise powers that directly affect the liberty, dignity and security of citizens and must therefore operate within strict constitutional and legal limits. The decentralisation of policing authority makes robust safeguards even more important, as it increases the number of institutions exercising coercive powers across the Federation.
The National Policing Bill should require compliance with:
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and
The Convention Against Torture.
These obligations should be reflected in training, operational procedures, supervision and accountability systems.
Specific safeguards should include:
Prohibition of torture;
Independent investigation of deaths in custody;
Mandatory recording of arrests and detentions;
Digital custody management systems;
Public reporting on use-of-force incidents;
Protection of journalists;
Protection of human rights defenders; and
Protection of freedom of assembly and association.
Particular attention should be given to policing during elections and public demonstrations. The Bill should establish clear standards for crowd management, public assemblies and election-related deployments, supported by independent monitoring and review mechanisms.
Human rights protections should be embedded in the design of State Police from the outset. The true test of a democratic policing system is not simply its ability to prevent crime, but its ability to do so while respecting the rights and freedoms of citizens.
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