The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed support for the establishment of state police but criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for what it described as a rushed approach to the reform.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said state police is a long-standing constitutional reform that requires careful planning, broad public consultation, and strong institutional safeguards—not an emergency response to Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
The ADC argued that while it has consistently backed decentralized policing, the current legislative push appears to be a hurried attempt to address rising cases of terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping. According to the party, state police should not be presented as an immediate solution to the country’s security crisis.
The party also questioned the timing of the proposal, asking why the Tinubu administration waited until now to accelerate constitutional amendments if it had always been committed to the reform. It warned that establishing functional state police would require extensive recruitment, training, funding, equipment, and independent oversight, all of which cannot be achieved overnight.
ADC further raised concerns about the absence of clear safeguards against political abuse, asking how recruitment, discipline, funding, and oversight of state police would be managed to prevent governors from using the force for partisan purposes.
While reaffirming its support for state police, the opposition party insisted that reforms must also strengthen the federal police, judiciary, intelligence gathering, prosecution, and correctional services to achieve lasting improvements in national security
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