If Nigeria police, military can’t solve insecurity, state police won’t — Galadima

n n

A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Buba Galadima, has argued that the proposed creation of state police will not solve Nigeria’s insecurity challenges, warning that it could instead be used by political officeholders to suppress opposition.

n

Galadima stated this on Tuesday during an interview on the ARISE News Morning Show.

n

He was reacting to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, recently passed by the National Assembly and currently before the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration.

n

Questioning the effectiveness of the proposed state police, Galadima said Nigeria’s security problems would not be resolved merely by creating another policing structure.

n

“If the Nigerian Police, if the Nigerian Military cannot solve security situations in Nigeria, I wonder how the state police would be able to do that,” he said.

n

The elder statesman alleged that the push for state police was politically motivated, claiming it could be deployed by elected officials during the 2027 elections.

n

“All that we know is that the president and the governors are looking for state police before the elections so that they use them as political thugs to attack the opposition, disrupt the election and kill democracy,” he said.

n

Galadima also cited his experience during the era of the Native Authority Police, alleging that the institution was abused to intimidate and detain political opponents ahead of elections.

n

“I was adult enough to see what had happened during the Native Authority Police. When elections approached, three months to the election, the Native Authority Police would gather all the opposition elements in their territorial jurisdiction and lock them up.

n

“Some of them, they would just say, ‘Oh, you have abused the Emir,’ or ‘You have abused the chief,’ or ‘You have abused the judge,’ or that you were wearing shoes when your village head was seated on a chair. Then they would clamp all of them into detention,” he said.

n

According to Galadima, the alleged misuse of the Native Authority Police contributed to the migration of many people from parts of Northern Nigeria.

n

He further argued that state police could deepen ethnic and religious divisions if recruitment were dominated by particular groups in individual states.

n

“The state police could be used to even destroy the unity of this country because if there are certain states where only one tribe or only one religion will constitute the state police, people from other parts of the country will have no liberty to live and do their businesses as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

n

He concluded that the proposed policing structure would create more challenges than it would solve.

n

“For me, it will create more problems, more division and more suspicion.”

n

The National Assembly recently passed the State Police Bill as part of the ongoing constitutional amendment process.

n

The proposal requires approval by at least 24 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly before it can proceed to the next stage of the constitutional amendment process.

n n