Reconsidering Section 214 of the Constitution: The Legal Case for or Against State Police

CONTRIBUTOR: ETIENO MARTIN UKANGA

INTRODUCTION

Few issues have tested Nigeria’s constitutional structure over the intense debate regarding state police. Due to rising incidents of banditry and kidnapping to persistent communal violence and rural insecurity, the limits of a centrally controlled policing system have become increasingly visible. In a country of over 200 million people with vast geographic and cultural diversity, questions are being asked about whether a single federal police structure can effectively respond to localized security threats.

At the heart of the debate lies Section 214 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which establishes only one police force for the entire federation which is the Nigeria Police Force. Any move toward state police as contended would therefore require not just policy adjustment, but constitutional amendment. This raises a deeper question; is the push for state police a thoughtful step toward strengthening federalism and improving security governance, or is it a political experiment driven by power calculations rather than institutional readiness?

This article examines the background of the police force from colonial rule to the first republic, the challenges and political tensions of the first republic, where we stand today and whether the call for state police represents a necessary constitutional evolution in response to Nigeria’s security realities, or a potentially destabilizing reform lacking sufficient structural safeguards.

DEFINITION AND CONCEPT

NIGERIA POLICE FORCE

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is the principal law enforcement agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Police Affairs and is tasked with maintaining public order, protecting lives and property, and enforcing laws across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It was founded in 1930 with the Motto: “Police is your friend”. The Nigerian Police Force has it headquarters in Louis Edet House, Abuja with over 370,000 officers (approx.)

STATE POLICE

It refers to a policing system where individual states within a federal country have their own independent police forces, controlled and managed by the state government rather than the federal (central) government. In the context of Nigeria, state police would mean that each of the 36 states creates and controls its own police force, separate from the federally controlled Nigeria Police Force^[1].

HISTORY OF THE NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE

THE COLONIAL ERA

Historically, Nigerian Police grew from the relics of the colonial police system, which was aimed at controlling the people and imposing the colonial authority and rule on the people. In essence, the Nigerian police grew as an occupation force from the colonial time . The first form of organized police service in Nigeria was enunciated in April 1861, when the British consul charged with the administration of the colony of Lagos, among other things, authorized to form a consular guard to help in the maintenance of law and order in the colony^[2].

Much later, in 1863, the 30 man consular guard became known as the Hausa Guard, due mainly to the fact that they were all made up of Hausa people. This 30 man consular guards was in 1879 regularized by an ordinance establishing a constabulary for the colony of Lagos. The ordinance earned it the Hausa Constabulary. The Hausa Constabulary was mainly military in nature, but still performed some civil police function. In 1896, the Lagos police force was created and armed like the Hausa Constabulary. For the areas now known as Edo, Rivers and Cross River state, a Niger Coast Constabulary, modeled on the Hausa Constabulary was formed with the proclamation of Northern and Southern protectorates in 1900, the Royal Niger Constabulary was split into the Northern Nigerian Police Force and the Northern Nigeria Regiment which eventually gave birth to Nigerian Army. The Northern Nigeria Police was said to be reorganized and enlarged in 1903. The name again changed in 1906 to Northern Nigeria Constabulary and expanded.

A further reorganization took place in 1908 and its name changed again to Northern Nigeria Police with its strength reduced. In 1914, the Southern and Northern protectorate was amalgamated but, the South and North had its own police force until 1st April 1930 when the two separate police from the North and South were merged to form the present Nigeria Police Force (NPF) under the police ordinance No 2 of 1930 with its headquarters in Lagos.^[3]

challenges and political tensions of the first republic; Post-Colonial Era

Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960, and its first constitution devolved substantial power to three regional governments, known as the Northern, Western, and Eastern regions. The federal government retained control of the NPF, but the regional governments continued to maintain their own local police forces.

Until 1966, the local police forces in Northern and Western Nigeria coexisted with the federal police force – Nigeria Police Force. The local forces were disbanded as recommended by a panel set up in 1966 by the military regime of JTU Aguiyi Ironsi. The Committee or Working Party (also referred to as Gobir Panel, so named after its chairman) was requested to consider the desirability of dual (local and National) or centralized (unified) police and prisons service. The Committee submitted its report to the military regime led by General Gowon (that succeeded Ironsi regime overthrown in July 1966) and recommended the abolition of local police forces and prison services. According to the Committee, the local police forces were poorly trained, corrupt and used for partisan political purposes, including the repression of opponents, by traditional rulers and politicians in Northern Nigeria as well as by political parties and governments in power in the Northern and Western Regions^[4]. The experience of the Nigeria Police Force under the military rule may be characterized as sweet from 1966 -1979 and bitter from 1983-1999. The military rule under General Gowon (1967-1975) may indeed be viewed as the sweetest period of police-military collaboration in governance^[5]. By 1972, the local police forces were fully integrated into the NPF. Since then, the NPF, a national force under the control of the federal government, has been the sole entity responsible for policing in Nigeria.

It is said that Nigeria’s first four decades following independence were dominated by a series of military coups. The police force which at independence numbered approximately 12,000 was larger than the military, and thus was perceived by military leaders as a threat. As a result, the NPF was chronically underfunded and marginalized by the military governments during this period. As the military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo prepared to return Nigeria to civilian rule in 1979, the government embarked on a massive police recruitment campaign while largely discarding recruitment and training standards.

By 1979, the NPF had grown to “80,000 ill-trained, ill-motivated and ill-equipped men.” The civilian government was short-lived, however, and was overthrown by a coup in 1983 that resulted in an additional 16 years of military rule. Internal government and civil society reports during this time consistently identified problems of misconduct within the NPF. A commission set up by the military government in 1967, for example, found that the “despicable image of the police” was in part attributable to “bribery and corruption.”

The report of the commission concluded:

Unsuitable candidates had bribed their way into the force; “lucrative” stations were bought. The term “lucrative” applies to border stations such as Idiroko and Calabar where smuggling was rampant. Bribes were offered to affect assignment to duties with opportunities for extra income, otherwise styled “moving line” duties. They include traffic, vehicle inspection and criminal investigation duties. By the early 1990s, the Nigerian police had established a reputation for being “consistently repressive, corrupt, and ineffective,” for taking kickbacks, and also for accepting bribes from criminal suspects to avoid prosecution and other forms of case fixing.

The successive military governments installed few effective checks on abuses of police authority, leaving misconduct and corruption to flourish. Over time morale declined and the police’s deteriorating public image deterred quality candidates from entering the force. As one former senior police official described to Human Rights Watch, “It ended up with most of the people who were joining the Nigerian police, joined it simply because it was a very easy way of making money.”^[6]

THE DEMOCRATIC ERA TILL DATE

The military transferred power to an elected government in May 1999. A new constitution also came into effect on the May 31st 1999. The new constitution contains provisions on the Nigeria Police Force, the Police Council and the Police Service Commission. Section 214(1) of the 1999 Constitution provided that: There shall be a Police Force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section, no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof. The functions of the Nigeria Police Force were specified in section 4 of the Police Act (Laws of the Federation 1990).

Structure and organization of the Nigerian Police Force The NPF is a centralized organization with a command structure headed by the Inspector General of Police, appointed by the President. It comprises seven regional zones, each overseen by an Assistant Inspector General. Key specialized departments include the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Police Mobile Force, and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), though the latter was officially disbanded in 2020 following nationwide protests.

Roles and functions of the Nigerian Police Force

Its core functions include crime prevention, public safety, and law enforcement. The force conducts criminal investigations, traffic control, crowd management, and intelligence gathering. It also assists other national agencies in counterterrorism, border security, and disaster response, often coordinating with the Nigerian Armed Forces and Department of State Services^[7].

STATE POLICE IN NIGERIA AND THE GROWING PUBLIC OUTCRY FOR ITS ESTABLISHMENT

The concept of state police is based on federalism, where powers are shared between the central government and state governments. The rising spate of banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes, and other violent crimes has fueled public outcry for a decentralized policing framework that would empower states to establish and control their own police forces, the establishment for it in Nigeria has continuously intensified due to escalating Insecurity and Perceived Failure of Centralised Policing. Governors, especially in the South-West, have renewed demands that state police is “no longer delayable” due to worsening insecurity across their states. They argue that the Nigeria Police Force’s centralised structure is overstretched and unable to respond effectively to local threats^[8].

The need for state police has been supported by many including the Regional student and civil society organisations (e.g., National Association of Ogun Student) have also backed governors’ calls for state policing as essential for grassroots security^[9] with the argument that decentralised police force would be closer to local realities, more responsive, and able to prioritise state-specific threats compared to the current federal system. Likewise, President Bola Tinubu and ministers have publicly supported the state police concept as a necessary reform to confront persistent crimes like banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism, saying the existing federal model can’t cope alone^[10].

PRIOPOSED STRUCTURE OF STATE POLICE

It is believed that, if state police is implemented in Nigeria, it would:

1. DECENTRALIZED CONTROL: Whereby it is managed by state governments, hence, a true federalism^[11] which aligns with federal principles practiced in countries like the United States.
2. LOCAL RECRUITMENT : It is believed that there will be Improved security response and Faster reaction to local security threats as officers are recruited from within the state to handle internal security within the state.
3. BETTER COMMUNITY POLICING: There is bound to be better intelligence gathering as officers recruited with the state understand local language, culture, and terrain.
4. STATE FUNDED: Having going to be funded by state budgets, it is believed that there will be a reduction of deferral burden and less pressure on the central police system, working alongside federal security agencies.

Proponents contend that state police would enhance responsiveness, improve intelligence gathering, and ensure better community engagement, given that local authorities are more familiar with the peculiar security dynamics of their respective states.

STATE POLICE; A CATALYST FOR CONSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTION, LESSONS FROM THE FIRST REPUBLIC

The agitation for the establishment of state police in Nigeria necessarily implicates a far-reaching constitutional amendment and a deliberate evolution of the country’s federal structure. Under the current constitutional framework, particularly Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), policing is placed exclusively on the Exclusive Legislative List^[12], thereby vesting control in the Federal Government. The creation of state police would therefore require a fundamental alteration of this arrangement, amounting not merely to statutory reform but to constitutional restructuring.

Historically, Nigeria’s experience with regional policing during the First Nigerian Republic and partly the second republic (1963-1967) offers instructive lessons. During these periods, regional and local police forces operated alongside the federal police. While this arrangement was arguably more reflective of true federalism, it was marred by allegations of abuse, political intimidation, and manipulation by regional governments^[13]. Opposition figures were reportedly harassed, and law enforcement institutions were, in some instances, deployed as instruments of partisan control. These destabilizing tendencies contributed to public distrust and were among the factors that informed the eventual consolidation of policing powers under a centralized command structure.

Accordingly, any contemporary move toward state police must be anchored on robust constitutional safeguards designed to prevent a recurrence of such abuses by authorities who manages the institution (the state), especially in an instance where the State is their sole provider. Governors may use the state police for political misuse by suppressing political opponent, some states may not afford to maintain a police force, and there is likely going to be an occurrence of Conflict between the state and federal authorities especial when there is tug between the state and federal might.

RECOMMENDATION

It is of great recommendation that Structural protections such as clearly defined jurisdictional limits, independent oversight bodies^[14], guaranteed financial autonomy, professional standards insulated from political interference, and enforceable accountability mechanisms should be put in place. Without such safeguards, decentralization risks degenerating into fragmentation, thereby undermining national cohesion and democratic stability. To better put, state police should not be perceived merely as a security reform but as a constitutional evolution that must carefully reconcile the imperatives of federalism with the lessons of Nigeria’s constitutional history.

CONCLUSION

In Conclusion, before implementing state police, Nigeria must carefully assess whether decentralization would truly enhance security or risk repeating the political abuses of the past. Any reform should prioritize strong constitutional safeguards, accountability, and protection of democratic principles to avoid creating a system more destabilizing than the current centralized policing structure, as while it is meant to improve security and promote federalism, it also raises concerns about misuse and funding.

REFERENCE

1. About the Nigerian Police, The Nigerian Police Watch- https://www.nigeriapolicewatch.com/ – accessed 26^th February, 2026. ↑
2. Udeuhele, Godwin Ikechukwu, Ph.D , Elechi, Felix Aja, Ph.D ‘’The Colonial Origin of the Nigeria Police Force and the Endsars Protest: The Need for a People Police’’ IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), Volume 27, Issue 8, Series 7 (August. 2022) 01-14 – https://iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol.27-Issue8/Ser-7/A2708070114.pdf – accessed : 26^th February, 2026. ↑
3. Federal Government of Nigeria (1967) Working Party Report on the Police and Prisons. See also Ahire, P. T. (1993) “Native Authority Police in Northern Nigeria : End of an Era.” and K. Rotimi (1993) “Local Police in Western Nigeria: End of an Era” both in T. N. Tamuno, I. L. Bashir, E. E. O. Alemika and A. O. Akano Policing Nigeria: Past, Present and Future (Lagos: Nigeria Police Force and Malthouse Press Ltd.) -accessed 26^th February, 2026. ↑
4. “The Dilemma of Police Organization under a Federal System: The Nigerian Example” The Nigerian Law Journal (6): 73-87. E. E. O. Alemika (1993) – accessed 26^th February, 2026. ↑
5. Ibid 3. ↑
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria_Police_Force ↑
7. South- West Governors renew demand for state police, unveil new security architecture https://www.premiumtimesng.com/ – Accessed 26^th February, 2026. ↑
8. Insecurity: NAOSS drums support for Southern Govs’ call for state policing https://www.tvcnews.tv/ – Accessed 26^th February, 2026.

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9. Tinubu urges NASS to summon IGP over delay in creation of state police; https://www.westernpost.ng/tinubu-urges-nass-to-summon-igp-over-delay-in-creation-of-state-police/ – Accessed 26^th February, 2026. ↑
10. State Police Non-negotiable for effective grassroot security; Abiodun tells southern Governors https://www.channelstv.com/ – Accessed 27^th February, 2026 ↑
11. S.214 of The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). ↑
12. Ibid. ↑
13. Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Bill, 2023 (Establishment of State Police)(HB.617), https://placing.org/ – Accessed 27^th February, 2026. ↑