Nigeria: Nigeria's Federal Police Force Has Failed, but What Does History Say About Local Forces?

What the report says

AllAfrica republished a Conversation Africa analysis by Saheed Balogun Amusa, a professor of history at Obafemi Awolowo University, on Nigeria’s move toward state policing. According to the article, the Nigerian Senate passed an executive bill on 24 June 2026, sent by President Bola Tinubu, to create police services in all 36 states. The proposal would shift Nigeria from its long-standing centralized Nigeria Police Force to a dual structure made up of a Federal Police Service and separate State Police Services.

Amusa places the development in historical context, noting that Nigeria previously had regional policing alongside the federal force created in 1930. The north operated a Native Authority Police Force, rooted in the pre-colonial Dogarai system and reformed in 1907, while the west had a Local Government Police Force that evolved from policing traditions in Yorubaland. These locally controlled forces were abolished in 1968, with personnel absorbed into the national force.

The analysis argues that local forces can be more responsive to communities but are also vulnerable to capture by political leaders. It cites past disputes and crises, including the 1962 Action Group crisis, elections, riots and more recent confrontations involving governors, as examples of alleged or perceived police politicization under federal control.

Amusa’s assessment is that Nigeria’s current insecurity makes state police “long overdue,” while warning that reform could generate new risks such as political misuse and jurisdictional conflict. He says success would depend on constitutional safeguards, professional recruitment and training, adequate funding, independent oversight bodies, operational autonomy and a stronger commitment to federalism.