Nigeria's State Police Push Expands State Power

About 30 state Houses of Assembly have endorsed a constitutional amendment to establish state police, President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio said Wednesday. The proposal would create another layer of state authority over policing, while Akpabio says the change could arrive within a month.

"As I speak with you now, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, it may not take us a month before we have a state police system, a decentralised policing in the country, because about 30 states have endorsed the amendment to the Nigerian constitution to bring about state police system, which will further increase the security of the nation."

Akpabio made the remarks during a visit to his office in Abuja by members of the Arewa Revival Project, a northern youth organisation with members across the 19 northern states. He described decentralised policing as a way to bring policing closer to communities, complement existing security structures and improve responses to insecurity. Those are the stated aims; the account gives no details about how the proposed forces would operate or how communities would shape their decisions.

A constitutional change, sold as security

The proposed amendment would change how policing is organised, moving toward a state police system alongside existing security structures. Akpabio said the endorsement process was nearing completion. His estimate was that a system could follow within a month, but he did not describe what further steps remained or identify which state assemblies had endorsed the amendment.

The security pitch is direct: bring policing closer to communities and improve responses to insecurity. But the account offers no testimony from residents, no description of community oversight and no explanation of what authority state police would exercise. The central institutional promise comes from Akpabio, who said the change would "further increase the security of the nation."

Youth urged to organize for a second term

At the same meeting, Akpabio urged young people to mobilise at grassroots level for President Bola Tinubu's re-election in 2027. He argued that continuity would let the administration's economic reforms and security policies produce results, and said Tinubu had worked to diversify the economy, reform the tax system and address structural problems.

Akpabio said lawmakers had endorsed Tinubu for a second term. He praised the administration, declaring: "No president has achieved the level of development that he has done in this country today since independence." He added, "You don't change a winning team. He is doing so well. Allow his policies to crystallise. This is not somebody who is coming to experiment. He is already doing it."

The appeal to young people was not for independent decision-making outside electoral politics. It was a request to campaign for continuity and explain government policy at grassroots meetings. Akpabio said they should challenge what he called misinformation rather than try to compete online all the time.

The message from the top

Akpabio alleged that some people attacking the president and his supporters on social media were paid. "You are not being paid," he told the youths. He advised them to gather young people periodically to explain policies, saying: "Once in a while, gather the youth together and let them see the truth and know the truth."

He also said the president's policies were intended to stabilise the future and ensure Nigeria's survival. Project Coordinator of the Arewa Revival Project Hon. Mustafa Ibrahim said the group considered Akpabio deserving of recognition for contributions to nation-building and achievements under his leadership of the National Assembly. The organisation presented him with an award for contributions to national development. The proposed policing system and the re-election campaign were both presented to the gathered youth as projects of the political leadership.