The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has cautioned against rush in the creation of state police, and said the security of Nigerians is too urgent to be reduced to a quick legislative fix or rushed through the National Assembly without the broad consultation such a far-reaching reform demands.
ADC in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said it has always believed that Nigeria’s policing architecture must evolve to reflect the realities of the federal system.
The party however noted that decentralised policing has been part of Nigeria’s constitutional and political conversation for decades, adding that there is nothing novel about the idea of state police.
ADC accused President Bola Tinubu of attempt to package the long-standing national consensus as a bold new initiative and, to “present it as a silver bullet for the country’s current security crisis.”
According to the party, state police is a structural reform whose benefits will only be realised over time.
“It cannot, by itself, solve today’s emergency,” ADC stated, and warned that the rush to push the legislation through the National Assembly, without consultation and public engagement the reform requires, is both unnecessary and potentially counterproductive.
“Legislation with such far-reaching implications for every Nigerian, and one that could fundamentally alter the country’s constitutional architecture, requires broad consultation and careful reflection.
“Instead, what we are are seeing is a government in desperate haste to amend the Constitution in order to create the impression that it is doing something about the country’s worsening insecurity,” the party said.
ADC argued that if President Tinubu were genuinely committed to state police, why did it take his administration almost until the end of its tenure to begin rushing through a constitutional amendment?
According to the party, passing a law is only the beginning, and probably the easiest part, of a complex process, pointing out that recruitment, vetting, training, equipment, funding, command structures, operational guidelines, and independent oversight could not be created overnight, especially as the country approaches another election cycle.
It warned that terrorists, kidnappers, and bandits would not suspend their activities while new institutions were being assembled.
ADC stated that Nigerians deserve reforms that are carefully designed to succeed, “not reforms designed merely to create the impression that the government is doing something.”
The party added that the Federal Government’s approach also leaves many questions unanswered, and demanded to know the safeguards put in place to prevent state police from becoming instruments of political intimidation.
It further wanted to know who will regulate the recruitment, deployment, discipline and funding, as well as the existing legislative and judicial oversight to guarantee the independence of the state police.
“Where are the accompanying reforms to prosecution, correctional services, forensic capacity and intelligence coordination?
“These are not secondary questions. They are the difference between building a professional police service and creating another institution that may be vulnerable to abuse,” ADC stated.
The party further warned that if the structural deficiencies of the existing police were not addressed, creating another policing layer simply duplicates weakness instead of multiplying effectiveness.
ADC stated that while its manifesto supports a multi-layered policing framework built on federal, state and community policing, with clearly defined jurisdictions, enforceable national standards, independent oversight and stronger community intelligence, policing alone cannot deliver security.
The party promised a comprehensive security architecture, if it forms the next government, which would be based on effective law enforcement, modern correctional services, professional prosecution, intelligence coordination, forensic capacity, technology and accountable institutions.
“Security is too serious to be treated as another political posturing.
“Nigerians deserve reforms that are carefully designed and institutionally sound, not reforms driven by political urgency or public relations considerations,” it added.
