Proposed State Police to handle local criminal offences, domestic violence, homicide, armed robbery—Source

2026-03-29 - 04:33

•To receive 3% from Federation Account •Federal Police to focus on national security, interstate crime, federal law enforcement By Henry Umoru The submitted framework for the establishment of state police to the Senate shows that when put in place, State Police Services would be saddled with the responsibility of handling local criminal offences, domestic violence, homicide, armed robbery, and community policing as their primary mandate. With the coming on board of a two-tier policing architecture, the proposal creates a Federal Police Service (FPS) that would focus on national security, terrorism, interstate crime, and federal law enforcement,alongside 37 State Police Services (one per state plus the FCT) that would focus on the earlier mentioned ones. Recall that, preparatory to the establishment of state police, the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, last Thursday, submitted a framework for the outfit to the Senate. According to Disu, the move forms part of efforts to decentralise policing in the country. The police boss submitted the framework to Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, APC, Kano North, who chairs the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, at the senator’s office in the National Assembly, Abuja. A document sighted by Sunday Vanguard, yesterday, showed that every State Police Service must maintain a dedicated Department of Community Policing, with Community Policing Forums established at every Local Government Area, just as a constitutionally protected State Police Fund will receive a 3% statutory federal allocation from the Federation Account. “Community Policing as the Operational Nerve Centre: The report places community policing at the philosophical and operational heart of the state police model, recognising that the erosion of trust between Nigerian communities and the police is not merely a reputational problem but a fundamental operational liability,” the document stated. “Every State Police Service must maintain a dedicated Department of Community Policing, with Community Policing Forums established at every Local Government Area — comprising police officers, traditional leaders, women’s groups, youth organisations, and religious leaders. Community Liaison Officers will be assigned to specific communities, expected to speak local languages, and evaluated partly on community forum ratings. Constitutional Amendments Are the Foundation: Establishing state police requires targeted amendments to the 1999 Constitution, particularly Section 214 (to allow state police to co-exist with the Federal Police Service) and the Second Schedule (to move “State Police” from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent Legislative List). A new Section 214A would constitutionally establish a National Police Standards Board. “ A Two-Tier Policing Architecture: The proposal creates a Federal Police Service (FPS) focused on national security, terrorism, interstate crime, and federal law enforcement, alongside 37 State Police Services (one per state plus the FCT) handling local criminal offences, domestic violence, homicide, armed robbery, and community policing as their primary mandate. “A National Police Standards Board (NPSB) as the Backbone: An independent 13-member federal board will set, monitor, and enforce minimum national standards — covering recruitment, training, conduct, accountability, and funding — across all police services. It will publish annual compliance ratings for every state service, with non-compliance triggering funding penalties. “Robust Safeguards Against Political Abuse: Recognising the widespread concern that state police could be weaponised by governors, the report recommends constitutional prohibitions on partisan deployment, independent State Police Service Commissions insulated from gubernatorial interference, criminal sanctions for officials who issue unlawful orders, and Federal High Court fast-track review of politically motivated deployments. “ A Voluntary Transfer Programme (VTP) for Officers: No officer will be involuntarily dismissed. Officers can opt to transfer to their home-state or preferred State Police Service. Incentives include a three-month salary Transfer Facilitation Grant, a transition training programme, and a guaranteed Pension Continuity certificate. The FPS will retain approximately 40% of officers for national roles, while 60% will be ceded to state services. “ Multi-Layered Accountability. Architecture: Oversight is deliberately layered to prevent capture by any single political interest, encompassing: State Police Service Commissions (independent appointment and discipline), State Police Ombudsmen (independent complaints handling), NPSB inspections, State House of Assembly standing committees, mandatory Body-Worn Cameras with secure cloud storage, and public performance dashboards showing use-of-force statistics and community satisfaction data. “Dedicated Funding Through a State Police Fund (SPF): A constitutionally protected State Police Fund will receive a 3% statutory federal allocation from the Federation Account (distributed by a formula weighting population, land area, security need, and fiscal capacity) plus a minimum 15% contribution from each state government’s security budget. “Adequate, transparent funding is framed explicitly as an anti-corruption measure. “A 60-Month Phased Implementation Roadmap: The rollout is structured across four phases: constitutional and legal foundations (Months 1–12), establishment of state services and VTP launches (Months 13–24), initial operations and FPS withdrawal from local policing (Months 25–42), and full consolidation with an independent evaluation and legislative review (Months 43–60).” File: State Police 28/03/2028