The Action Democratic Party (ADP) has cautioned northern governors against supporting the creation of state police. Just as the party insisted that the move will undermine national security and put Nigerians at greater risk.
This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Sani Dawop
The party dismissed the push for state policing as a false narrative being promoted as a solution to the country’s worsening insecurity.
The statement read: “This position is misguided, dangerous, and a direct threat to national stability in the absence of an agreed constitutional framework to regulate these state policing outfits.”
“Let’s not put the cart before the horse. Weakening the federal security architecture and empowering sub-national political actors with armed police formations will not enhance public safety.”
The ADP further described the advocacy for state police as “a carefully packaged scam.” It alleged that its promoters know fully well that the real beneficiaries would not be ordinary citizens. But political elites who, according to the party, have repeatedly failed when entrusted with authority.
“For years, state governments – especially across the North – have mismanaged their constitutional responsibilities while insecurity
exploded under their watch.
“More worrying is their consistent abuse of political power as showcased in the conduct of so-called Local Government elections.
“This show of shame is not restricted to the North but the entire political machinery. Where governors willy-nilly declare their parties the winners of all positions, thereby reducing grassroots democracy to an embarrassing ritual.
“To now place weapons, command structures, and coercive authority in the hands of these same political actors is to invite state-sponsored terrorism, intimidation, expanded corruption, and heightened inter-ethnic cum intra-state tensions. This proposal does not decentralise security, it only politicizes force and risks turning Nigerian states into fragmented enclaves controlled by partisan security militias.
“Nigerians are aware that most, if not all States presently have one security outfit or the other established by State Laws without meaningful results to show for it.
“The ADP warns that once State Police becomes law without the necessary consultations and constitutional framework, the consequences will be swift and severe.
“Political opponents will be targeted, communities will face biased policing, ethnic and religious divisions will deepen. Banditry and terrorism may mutate into state-enabled violence and the Federal Republic of Nigeria will face unprecedented institutional threats.
The ADP stated that what Nigeria needs is real security overhaul, not political opportunism disguised as decentralization. The party called for an all-encompassing national security conference to discuss the modalities, ways and means of State Policing amongst other national security concerns.
“We must strengthen all government law-enforcement agencies, invest in intelligence, enhance inter-agency collaboration, and enforce accountability at all levels of government.
“Private guard duties can be reformed to perform most of the functions carried out by state security agencies to build greater confidence in the citizens.
“No Governor who has turned local administration into personal fiefdom can be trusted with a police force without necessary reforms.
“The ADP enjoins all patriotic Nigerians, civil society organizations, labour unions, and traditional institutions to reject this dangerous proposal. And to demand genuine solutions that prioritize safety over politics, unity over fragmentation, and national interest over personal ambition. Nigeria must not sleepwalk into constitutional,” ADP stated.