Former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, has backed the constitutional amendment seeking to establish state police, saying Nigeria can no longer tackle insecurity effectively through an overly centralised system.
Duke said policing should be deliberately decentralised, with intelligence gathering and responses brought closer to the communities where crimes occur. He also supported the creation of local government police.
“We will have to deliberately decentralise policing,” he said, adding, “The idea of state police, even local government police, is right.”
According to Duke, local communities are better positioned to identify suspicious movements, emerging threats and criminal activity. He argued that security intelligence should not have to pass through a distant central command before action is taken.
“Eighty per cent of security is intelligence,” Duke said, adding that enforcement should account for only a smaller share of policing.
He said decentralisation must be accompanied by safeguards against political abuse, including stringent operational guidelines and a stronger judiciary capable of checking abuses by security agencies.
Duke dismissed concerns that governors could misuse state police as insufficient reason to retain the current arrangement, noting that federal institutions could also be politically abused. The solution, he said, was to build strong institutions, establish clear rules and ensure effective accountability.
He also criticised Nigeria’s intelligence-gathering capacity, saying years of fighting insurgency and organised crime should have produced deeper penetration of criminal networks and better advance intelligence.
Duke’s comments come as the National Assembly’s effort to create state police through constitutional amendment enters a crucial stage.
On September 16, 2026, the National Assembly transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, on State Police Services to the 36 state Houses of Assembly. It is the only constitutional alteration bill in the ongoing review to have been sent to the states.
Under Section 9 of the Constitution, the amendment requires approval from at least two-thirds of the 36 state legislatures—24 Houses of Assembly—before advancing. The National Assembly requested responses within 30 days but clarified that this was an administrative timeframe, not a constitutional deadline.
The bill proposes a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and State Police Services, with safeguards covering the appointment and removal of state police commissioners, legislative oversight and State Police Service Commissions.
Consideration has begun in several states. The Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday unanimously endorsed the amendment, with all 25 members present voting in support, while the Plateau State House of Assembly has begun considering the bill.
The renewed legislative push follows a long-running debate over whether Nigeria’s security challenges can be addressed by a police system controlled mainly from the centre, as proponents of decentralisation seek structures closer to states and communities.
