…Warns New Policing Structure Could Deepen Insecurity, Political Abuse
ABUJA — A major police advocacy body, the Movement for Improved Welfare for Nigeria Police Force (MIWNPF), has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to decline assent to the controversial State Police Bill, warning that its passage could plunge Nigeria into deeper security, political and constitutional crises.
In a strongly worded statement issued in Abuja, the group alleged that the National Assembly sidelined the voices of ordinary Nigerians by pushing forward with the legislation without what it described as broad-based national consultations and adequate stakeholder engagement.
The organisation maintained that a reform as far-reaching as the creation of state police should not be rushed through the legislative process, insisting that it demands nationwide consensus because of its far-reaching implications for national unity, security and democracy.
According to the MIWNPF, Nigeria’s existing policing challenges stem less from the structure of the police and more from years of inadequate funding, poor welfare packages, insufficient manpower, obsolete equipment and weak institutional reforms.
The group argued that creating separate state-controlled police forces without first addressing these underlying problems could worsen insecurity rather than solve it.
It further cautioned that state police could become vulnerable to political manipulation by state governments, potentially turning security agencies into instruments for intimidating political opponents, suppressing dissent and influencing elections.
The welfare group also warned that multiple policing authorities operating under different political interests could create conflicting chains of command, weaken national coordination in combating terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other cross-border crimes, and ultimately undermine the country’s security architecture.
“We respectfully urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to assent to the bill in its present form. A decision of this magnitude must reflect the collective aspirations of Nigerians and not merely legislative approval,” the group stated.
The organisation called on the President to return the bill to the National Assembly for wider consultations involving security experts, civil society organisations, traditional rulers, legal practitioners, state governments, community leaders and members of the public.
It stressed that meaningful police reform should prioritise improved welfare for officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force, enhanced operational capacity, modern equipment, better intelligence gathering, increased recruitment and stronger accountability mechanisms.
The group insisted that strengthening the existing Nigeria Police Force remains the most effective path toward addressing the country’s growing security challenges.
The State Police Bill has continued to generate heated national debate, with supporters arguing that decentralised policing would improve grassroots security and enable faster responses to local crimes. Opponents, however, fear the initiative could be abused for political purposes and threaten Nigeria’s federal stability.
As the nation awaits President Tinubu’s decision, the intervention by the police welfare group has added another influential voice to the growing national conversation over one of the most consequential security reforms in Nigeria’s democratic history.
