By George Ozalla
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has described the National Assembly’s passage of the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish State Police as a significant step in Nigeria’s efforts to address worsening insecurity, while cautioning that the reform must not be implemented hastily without adequate safeguards.
In a statement signed by its Acting National Chairman, Chief Peter Ameh, the coalition said the Senate’s approval of the constitutional amendment on June 24, following earlier passage by the House of Representatives, represents a major shift in Nigeria’s security architecture by moving the country towards a more decentralised policing system.
According to the coalition, the reform comes at a time when Nigeria continues to battle widespread insecurity, including banditry, kidnapping, insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts, communal violence and urban crime, all of which have exposed the limitations of the country’s centralised policing structure.
CUPP argued that the Nigeria Police Force has remained overstretched and under-resourced despite repeated commitments by the Federal Government to recruit more personnel and improve funding for policing through the Police Trust Fund. It noted that those promises have not been fulfilled at the scale and speed required to effectively tackle the nation’s growing security challenges.
The coalition maintained that State Police could improve intelligence gathering, strengthen community policing and enable faster responses to security threats by recruiting officers who are familiar with local languages, terrain and peculiar security concerns within their states.
It, however, warned that the reform is not a complete solution to Nigeria’s security problems and expressed concern over what it described as the hurried nature of the constitutional amendment.
The coalition said a poorly implemented State Police system could become vulnerable to political abuse, election manipulation and the suppression of opposition voices. It also raised concerns over possible funding disparities among states, uneven professional standards and coordination challenges between federal and state policing authorities.
CUPP urged the National Assembly to establish minimum national operational standards, provide training support and create sustainable funding mechanisms to assist states with limited financial capacity. It also called on the Federal Government to fulfil its longstanding commitments to adequately recruit, equip and fund the Nigeria Police Force.
The coalition further appealed to civil society organisations, traditional institutions, security experts and the general public to actively monitor the implementation process and insist on professionalism, accountability and respect for human rights.
According to the statement, addressing insecurity requires more than structural reforms, stressing that the Tinubu administration must also confront the underlying causes of violence, including poverty, unemployment, porous borders, weak justice delivery and corruption.
CUPP said the success of the State Police initiative would ultimately depend on transparent, accountable and professional implementation that places the safety and well-being of Nigerians above political interests, adding that it remains committed to engaging all levels of government to ensure the new policing framework strengthens the country’s fight against insecurity.
