Keypoints:
- State Police is a historic opportunity to modernise Nigeria’s security architectur
- Technology and AI should underpin intelligence-led policing
- Accountability, oversight and human rights are essential for public trust
I WELCOME the significant progress towards establishing State Police in Nigeria following the endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the passage of the constitutional amendment bill by the National Assembly. This represents one of the most important security reforms since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule and reflects a growing recognition that the country’s security architecture must evolve to meet today’s security realities.
For nearly a decade, from the early years of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to the present, I have consistently advocated for State Police from the perspectives of technology leadership, governance and strategic security management. Through published articles, policy commentaries and public engagements, I have argued that the security challenges of the digital age require a decentralised, intelligence-led, community-focused and technologically enabled policing framework.
My position has never been driven by politics. It has always been grounded in the practical realities of security management, leadership and the transformative opportunities presented by emerging technologies.
Nigeria’s security landscape has changed
Nigeria today faces an increasingly complex combination of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cybercrime, communal violence and organised criminal networks. According to recent international security assessments, the country continues to confront one of Africa’s most challenging internal security environments, with multiple threats occurring simultaneously across different regions.
These pressures have stretched the capacity of a highly centralised policing system. A nation of Nigeria’s size, diversity and complexity requires a security framework capable of responding quickly to local conditions while maintaining effective national coordination.
The proposed dual policing model, comprising Federal and State Police formations, offers an opportunity to strengthen community intelligence, improve operational responsiveness, enhance local accountability and better protect lives and property.
However, creating State Police should not be viewed simply as establishing another policing institution. It should be recognised as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build what I have long described as a Technology-Enabled State Policing Framework for the Digital Age.
Technology must become the foundation
Modern policing cannot succeed without modern technology.
Artificial intelligence can help identify crime patterns, predict emerging security threats and optimise the deployment of scarce policing resources before incidents escalate. Combined with digital forensic capabilities, real-time crime analytics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), technology enables security agencies to make faster, better-informed operational decisions.
A modern State Police system should therefore be built around artificial intelligence-driven intelligence gathering, digital forensics, cybersecurity operations, smart surveillance technologies, secure community intelligence platforms, robust inter-agency information-sharing systems and data-driven decision-making.
Technology should not merely support State Police. It should become the force multiplier that enables officers to make faster, smarter and more accountable decisions while improving public confidence in law enforcement.
Accountability will determine success
Technology alone cannot guarantee effective policing.
State Police must also be supported by strong institutional safeguards that protect civil liberties and reinforce public trust. Independent oversight bodies, transparent recruitment processes, professional training, sustainable funding, responsible data governance and strict respect for human rights must all form part of the reform process.
Critics have rightly expressed concerns that State Police could become vulnerable to political interference or abuse by state governments. These concerns deserve serious consideration. Rather than dismissing them, policymakers should address them through constitutional safeguards, independent oversight, judicial accountability and clearly defined operational boundaries between federal and state policing institutions.
A well-designed governance framework will determine whether State Police strengthens Nigeria’s democracy or merely creates another layer of bureaucracy.
Building stronger communities, not competing institutions
I also reiterate my long-standing recommendation for a carefully coordinated security model that preserves the strengths of federal policing while empowering state-level security operations.
The objective should never be competition between Federal and State Police formations. Instead, both institutions should complement one another, sharing intelligence, coordinating operations and responding to threats according to clearly defined constitutional responsibilities.
As the constitutional amendment proceeds through the State Houses of Assembly, lawmakers and stakeholders must remain focused on professionalism, accountability, technological readiness, institutional integrity and sustainable financing.
Without these foundations, structural reform alone will not deliver the security improvements Nigerians rightly expect.
A defining opportunity for Nigeria
It is encouraging that an idea once regarded by some as controversial has steadily gained national acceptance. This demonstrates that sustained policy advocacy, informed public dialogue and evidence-based leadership can shape national conversations and ultimately influence public policy.
I commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives, governors, security sector reform advocates, traditional institutions, civil society organisations and all stakeholders who have contributed to advancing this important national conversation.
Nigeria now has an opportunity to build not merely another police institution, but one of Africa’s most technologically advanced public safety institutions.
History will judge this reform not simply by whether State Police is created, but by whether it is designed well enough to protect future generations while upholding justice, accountability and the rule of law.
Nigeria’s security future will be secured not merely through stronger policing, but through smarter policing.
The digital age demands nothing less.
Professor Ojo Emmanuel Ademola is the first African Professor of Cybersecurity and Information Technology Management, Global Education Advocate, Chartered Manager. He is also UK Digital Journalist and a Contributing Editor at Africa Briefing Magazine, Strategic Advisor & Prophetic Mobiliser for National Transformation, and General Evangelist of CAC Nigeria and Overseas
