According to the framework given to the Senate for the creation of state police, State Police Services’ main mandate would be to deal with local criminal offenses, domestic abuse, homicide, armed robbery, and community policing.
In addition to 37 State Police Services (one for each state plus the Federal Capital Territory) that would concentrate on the aforementioned areas, the proposal establishes a Federal Police Service (FPS) with a focus on national security, terrorism, interstate crime, and federal law enforcement.
Recall that last Thursday, Inspector General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu presented a blueprint for the organization to the Senate in advance of the creation of state police.
Disu claims that the action is a component of the nation’s efforts to decentralize law enforcement.
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.
According to the report, “Community Policing as the Operational Nerve Center: The report places community policing at the philosophical and operational heart of the state police model, recognizing that the erosion of trust between Nigerian communities and the police is not merely a reputational problem but a fundamental operational liability.”
A specific Department of Community Policing must be maintained by each State Police Service, and Community Policing Forums made up of police officers, traditional leaders, women’s organizations, youth organizations, and religious leaders must be created at each Local Government Area. Assigned to particular communities, Community Liaison Officers will be expected to speak local languages and will be rated in part based on ratings from community forums.
The Basis Is Constitutional Amendments: The 1999 Constitution must be specifically amended in order to create state police, especially Section 214, which permits state police to coexist with the Federal Police Service, and the Second Schedule, which moves “State Police” from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent Legislative List. A National Police Standards Board would be constitutionally established by a new Section 214A.
A Two-Tier Policing Architecture: The plan establishes a Federal Police Service (FPS) with a primary focus on national security, terrorism, interstate crime, and federal law enforcement, in addition to 37 State Police Services (one for each state plus the Federal Capital Territory) that are primarily responsible for local criminal offenses, domestic violence, homicide, armed robbery, and community policing.
“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: Acknowledging the widespread fear that governors could use state police as weapons, the report suggests criminal penalties for officials who issue unlawful orders, independent State Police Service Commissions shielded from gubernatorial interference, constitutional prohibitions on partisan deployment, and Federal High Court expedited review of politically motivated deployments.”
A Voluntary Transfer Program (VTP) for Officers: No officer will be fired against their will. Officers may choose to transfer to the State Police Service of their choice or to their home state. A guaranteed Pension Continuity certificate, a transition training program, and a three-month salary Transfer Facilitation Grant are among the incentives. About 40% of FPS officers will be retained for national tasks, with the remaining 60% going to state agencies.
Multiple Layers of Accountability. Architecture: State Police Service Commissions (independent appointment and discipline), State Police Ombudsmen (independent complaints handling), NPSB inspections, State House of Assembly standing committees, required body-worn cameras with secure cloud storage, and public performance dashboards displaying use-of-force statistics and community satisfaction data are all examples of oversight that is purposefully layered to prevent capture by any one political interest.
“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).”
