IGP Submits 75-Page State Police Framework to Senate

The push to establish state police in Nigeria has taken a major step forward after Inspector General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu formally submitted a comprehensive 75-page framework for the proposed decentralised police system to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, at the National Assembly in Abuja.

The document, titled "A Comprehensive Framework for the Establishment, Governance and Coordination of Federal and State Police," outlines in detail the structure, operational modalities, governance mechanisms, and coordination arrangements for a new two-tier policing architecture in Nigeria.  

The submission was made on Thursday, March 26, 2026, on behalf of the IGP by Professor Olu Ogunsakin, who chairs the committee set up by the Nigeria Police Force specifically to examine the modalities for establishing state police.

Senator Barau, who also serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, received the document at his office in the National Assembly, describing the submission as a proactive and timely contribution to the ongoing constitutional reform process. 

The development marks one of the most concrete steps yet in Nigeria's long-running debate over police decentralisation, a conversation that has gained renewed urgency under the Tinubu administration following years of rising insecurity across multiple regions of the country. 

At its core, the IGP's framework envisions a fundamental restructuring of Nigeria's policing system from a single, centralised federal force into a dual architecture consisting of a Federal Police Service and 37 State Police Services  one for each of Nigeria's 36 states, plus a separate service for the Federal Capital Territory. 

Under the proposed model, the Federal Police Service would retain responsibility for matters of national security, including terrorism and counterterrorism operations, interstate crime, cybercrime with national implications, protection of federal government officials and institutions, and border security. 

The Federal Police would continue to operate under a centrally appointed Inspector General and would remain accountable to the federal government.

The 37 State Police Services, on the other hand, would be empowered to handle local criminal offences, domestic violence cases, homicide investigations, armed robbery at the community level, and community policing programmes tailored to the specific needs of each state. 

State Commissioners of Police would be appointed in each state, subject to a governance framework that balances state government oversight with mechanisms to prevent political abuse. A constitutionally protected State Police Fund would be established, with a proposed 3% statutory federal allocation from the Federation Account dedicated to funding the state police services. 

This provision is intended to address concerns about some states lacking the financial capacity to sustain independent police forces, though critics note that 3% may be insufficient for states with large populations or complex security challenges.

Inspector General Disu described the framework as the product of extensive consultations, professional assessments, and strategic evaluations by the Nigeria Police Force, aimed at addressing the legal, administrative, and operational complexities of decentralising policing in a large, diverse federal state like Nigeria. 

"The report covers the considered views, professional insights and strategic recommendations of the Force, derived from extensive consultations and a careful assessment of the operational, legal and administrative implications of instituting state police in Nigeria," Disu said in a statement accompanying the submission."It is our expectation that the contents of this report will meaningfully contribute to ongoing deliberations and assist in shaping informed, balanced, and pragmatic decisions on this critical aspect of national security architecture.

" The IGP also described the move toward state police as "irreversible," while acknowledging that implementation remains contingent on constitutional amendments  a process that requires approval by the National Assembly and the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly. Senator Barau Jibrin, who received the framework on behalf of the Senate Constitution Review Committee, was effusive in his praise for the IGP's initiative. 

He commended the police chief for what he described as a proactive and timely intervention in the constitutional reform process, and assured that the committee would give the 75-page framework due consideration alongside all other memoranda submitted by stakeholders as part of the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution. 

The Deputy Senate President noted that the submission aligns with President Tinubu's stated security agenda, which has included a push to address Nigeria's worsening insecurity challenges through structural reforms rather than tactical responses alone. 

The Tinubu administration has since 2024 maintained that decentralised policing is a necessary reform, following an agreement between the President and the 36 state governors that a single federal police force is no longer adequate to address the country's complex and geographically diverse security threats. 

The Journey to State Police The debate over state police in Nigeria is not new. It has been one of the most contested governance questions in the country for decades, reflecting deep tensions between federal authority and state autonomy that run through Nigeria's constitutional architecture. 

Previous attempts to advance state police legislation have stalled at various stages of the legislative process, often because of concerns from minority ethnic groups and human rights organisations about the potential for abuse. 

The security situation across the country has, however, given the debate fresh urgency in recent years. Banditry in the North-West, Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgencies in the North-East, farmer-herder conflicts in the Middle Belt, kidnapping for ransom across multiple regions, and the activities of separatist groups in the South-East have all exposed the limitations of a centralised police force trying to respond to localised, community-level threats spread across a country of over 200 million people. 

Proponents of state police argue that locally recruited, locally accountable police officers with deep knowledge of their communities would be far more effective at intelligence gathering and rapid response than federal police officers rotated in from other parts of the country. They also argue that state-level oversight would improve accountability and responsiveness to citizens' concerns. 

The concerns about state police, however, remain significant and were acknowledged even in the announcement of the framework's submission. Chief among them is the fear that governors could use state police forces as personal security apparatus to suppress political opposition, intimidate rivals, and entrench themselves in power a risk that critics say is particularly acute in a political environment where executive abuse of state resources is well-documented. 

Human rights organisations have also raised concerns about accountability mechanisms, asking how citizens would seek redress if state police officers committed abuses. Without robust independent oversight bodies and effective internal accountability structures, critics warn that state police could multiply the opportunities for human rights violations rather than improving security outcomes. 

The question of funding remains another major concern. While the proposed 3% constitutional allocation would provide a baseline, some analysts argue that it would be insufficient, particularly for smaller states with limited internally generated revenue. There is also a risk that wealthier states could build more capable police forces than poorer states, potentially exacerbating the uneven security landscape that already exists across Nigeria's regions. 

The IGP's framework acknowledges these tensions and proposes governance structures intended to address them, including independent oversight bodies, clear rules governing the deployment of state police in politically sensitive situations, and coordination mechanisms between federal and state forces. 

Whether those safeguards will be sufficient to satisfy critics remains to be seen as the Senate committee begins its review. 

The Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution will now examine the IGP's framework alongside other submissions received as part of the constitutional review process. 

The committee's review is expected to feed into a broader set of constitutional amendments that the National Assembly is considering, covering a range of governance issues beyond just police decentralisation. 

For any state police bill to become law, it would need to pass both chambers of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate by a two-thirds majority, and then be approved by at least 24 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly. That is a high bar, but one that supporters believe is now more achievable given the broad political consensus that has formed around the need for police reform.