Nigeria moves towards decentralized policing; state governors demand broader security powers.

Our correspondent from Nigeria, Boubacar Sani:

Nigeria is moving towards restructuring Its security system, in light of efforts led by state governors to expand their powers in managing the security file, in conjunction with proposals to establish state-level police forces supported by sustainable funding.

Details of a high-level meeting organized by the Secretariat of the Governors’ Forum in the capital, Abuja, revealed a broad consensus among government officials, legal and security experts on the need to approve a new constitutional framework that strengthens the role of governors in coordinating security operations within their states, in addition to establishing local police formations.

Establishing a decentralized security system

The proposal aims to establish a decentralized security system based on a clear distribution of responsibilities between the federal police and their counterparts at the state level, whereby federal authorities retain files on major crimes such as terrorism, treason, and transnational drug crimes, while state police handle local crimes and community security issues.

The proposed framework emphasizes the importance of securing stable and reliable funding sources for the success of the experiment, warning that a lack of sufficient financial support could undermine the effectiveness of state police forces. The proposals include providing temporary federal support, along with establishing security trust funds that would allow for private sector participation in financing the security system.

Flexible mechanisms for redistributing human resources

The proposal included flexible mechanisms for redistributing human resources, by allowing federal police officers to voluntarily transfer to state police agencies, while retaining all their job rights, provided that these transfers are time-bound to ensure the efficiency of institutional planning.

In a move that takes into account the varying capabilities of the states, the new framework gives a grace period to states that are not ready to establish their police forces, while the federal government continues to perform security tasks until they are fully prepared.

These moves come at a time when the National Assembly continues to study constitutional amendments to establish a dual police system, as the House of Representatives has already given preliminary approval to the creation of state-level police forces, in one of the most prominent security reform initiatives since the return of democratic rule to the country in 1999.

Observers believe that adopting these amendments could bring about a radical transformation in the structure of internal security in Nigeria, by establishing a dual system that combines federal and state police within a clear constitutional framework that balances efficiency and accountability.