The new leadership of the Nigeria Police Force has opened its first strategic salvo. At an inaugural conference convened on 4 March 2026 at the Peacekeeping Conference Centre, Force Headquarters, Abuja, the Inspector-General of Police delivered a tightly framed message to senior commanders.
He urged them to lead by example, restore discipline, and modernise policing. These efforts are necessary to meet Nigeria’s mounting security challenges.
IGP Tunji Disu used the occasion to set internal performance benchmarks. He revitalized accountability units such as the Complaints Response Unit and the X-Squad. Additionally, he formally inaugurated a Steering Committee on the Establishment of State Police.
The committee, chaired by Prof. Olu Ogunsakin of the National Institute for Police Studies, was given several tasks. These included producing an operational framework for state policing. They had to review recruitment and training standards. Additionally, they needed to design oversight mechanisms to guard against politicisation.
Why this matters now
Nigeria’s security landscape has grown more complex and localised in recent years. Kidnapping, banditry, communal clashes and organised criminal violence have placed enormous operational strain on a centralised policing model. Many experts argue this model is too distant from the communities it must protect.
The Disu administration’s commissioning of a structured review shows a willingness to examine decentralised options. This approach avoids repeating ad hoc local security arrangements that have proliferated across states.
IGP Disu framed State Policing as complementary not replacement. He said the move would be carefully examined. It would be coordinated within a national security framework. This is to protect cohesion and prevent fragmentation.
The emphasis on intelligence led, evidence based and technology driven policing shows an intention. It aims to connect any decentralisation to modern standards of information sharing and oversight.
Framing the technical questions
The committee’s remit highlights the hard technical and fiscal questions that must be answered before any model can be piloted.
Who pays for state police salaries and pensions? Recent studies have estimated the costs of decentralised policing. They show large recurring budgets. These studies demand a clear fiscal compact between federal and state governments.
What institutional architecture will preserve operational interoperability between federal and state formations?
How will standards for recruitment, training, criminal investigation and internal discipline be harmonised? How can we prevent a patchwork of variable capabilities and vulnerabilities?
That calculus is central if the policy is to bolster security rather than entrench localised predation.
Political and constitutional stakes
Calls for restructuring, true federalism, and devolution of powers have long animated Nigeria’s politics. For many proponents true federalism means greater state autonomy over internal security.
Skeptics warn that without robust oversight and depoliticisation, state policing could be co-opted by local elites. It might also become a source of intergovernmental conflict.
The dilemma is acute. Decentralisation can bring policing closer to citizens. It can also magnify risks if checks and balances are weak.
The Steering Committee’s explicit charge to develop accountability and oversight mechanisms recognises this trade off.
NINAS Five-Point Proposition and political currents
Any sober assessment of state police proposals must also situate them within broader agitation for constitutional reconfiguration.
The NINAS Five-Point Proposition is a decentralisation blueprint first propagated in late 2020. It calls for constitutional recognition of regional grievances. It also demands the suspension of the 1999 constitution. Additionally, a time-bound reconfiguration process toward regional constitutions or independence is proposed, among other measures.
While the IGP’s committee addresses policing mechanics, the political currents represented by NINAS and similar movements mean discussions over state police will never be purely technical.
They are entangled with wider debates on sovereignty, resource control and the architecture of the federation.
Voices to watch on the committee
The choice of Prof. Olu Ogunsakin as chairman signals an emphasis on scholarly and professional police studies input.
His team includes serving and retired senior officers and training provosts whose immediate mandate will be a mix of comparative reviews and local needs assessments.
The committee’s composition will shape whether recommendations emphasise legal reform, fiscal models, community policing or a combination of all three.
What to expect next
Practical next steps will likely include comparative studies of federal systems with decentralised policing. Another step involves stakeholder consultations with state governments and civil society. Finally, a phased technical report will specify pilot options.
Key red flags for civil society and reformers will be any recommendation that lacks clear accountability, independent oversight, and predictable funding arrangements.
Conversely, proposals that embed legislative safeguards could build public confidence. Transparent recruitment and joint federal-state oversight could also reduce the temptation for extrajudicial local security experiments.
Assessment
The inauguration of the steering committee is the first test of whether high level rhetoric about discipline, accountability and technology will translate into reform that strengthens policing and protects citizens.
The policy moment is real. If the committee produces transparent, evidence-based recommendations, it could open a path to more responsive policing. This would create a locally accountable policing architecture.
If it fails to address funding, oversight and depoliticisation the reforms risk reinforcing the very insecurity they are meant to solve.
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