A prominent Nigerian policy group has called on the National Assembly (NASS) to invoke the doctrine of necessity to accelerate the passage of legislation establishing state police, expressing frustration at what it described as unacceptable delays in decentralising the nation’s policing structure.
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), in a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, argued that the police force must serve as cornerstone of Nigeria’s internal security architecture, and that achieving this requires officers who are recruited from and deployed within the communities they know.
“Our argument is hinged on the fact that police officers must be recruited from and deployed to the local environment they are familiar with,” the statement read. “The would-be police officers are better placed because of their knowledge of the culture and familiarity with their environment.”
The group acknowledged ongoing efforts to establish state police as part of the national security framework but said the pace of progress was inadequate given the security challenges facing the country.
It urged the National Assembly to use extraordinary legislative measures to push enabling law through without further delay.
Beyond the state police question, IMPI also pressed state governments and local authorities to deepen community involvement in security matters, describing community mobilisation as an essential complement to formal policing structures.
The group defined community mobilisation as a process of engaging and empowering residents to take ownership of and actively participate in addressing challenges in their communities, bringing together local leaders, civil society organisations, and government agencies around shared goals.
“Participation in community mobilisation is about addressing the interests of the entire community, with security at the top,” IMPI said, adding that the process should foster accountability, good governance, representative participation, and peaceful change.
IMPI’s call comes amid a broader national debate on state police, with several high-profile abduction cases in recent weeks intensifying pressure on the federal and state governments to act decisively on security sector reform.
