Trending 
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the Tinubu administration’s approach to implementing state police, describing the proposed legislation as a rushed response to Nigeria’s worsening insecurity rather than a carefully planned constitutional reform.
In a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party said it has consistently supported the creation of state police but insisted that the reform would only succeed if backed by strong institutional safeguards to guarantee professionalism, accountability and effective oversight.
26 JUNE 2026
PRESS STATEMENT
ADC: TINUBU’S STATE POLICE LEGISLATION RUSHED, PANICKY
– NOT A SOLUTION TO ONGOING SECURITY CRISISThe African Democratic Congress (ADC) supports state police. We have always believed that Nigeria’s policing architecture must evolve to reflect the… pic.twitter.com/VzJjVUIITB
— Bolaji Abdullahi (@BolajiADC) June 26, 2026
The ADC said decentralised policing should not be presented as an immediate solution to terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, stressing that support for state police does not amount to endorsement of the Nigerian Government’s handling of the reform.
The party argued that the current effort reflects a hurried response to the country’s security challenges instead of the deliberate institutional planning required to build an effective policing system.
“The African Democratic Congress supports state police. We have always believed that Nigeria’s policing architecture must evolve to reflect the realities of our federal system. But support for state police cannot be confused with support for the Tinubu administration’s handling of this important national reform,” the statement said.
It also rejected attempts to portray state police as a new initiative, noting that the proposal has been part of Nigeria’s constitutional debate for decades. According to the party, the Tinubu administration was merely repackaging a long-standing national consensus as a new policy while presenting it as a solution to the country’s security crisis.
“It is equally important to state that there is nothing novel about the idea of state police.
“What is new is the attempt by the Tinubu administration to package this long-standing national consensus as a bold new initiative and, worse, to present it as a silver bullet for the country’s current security crisis. It is neither. State police is a structural reform whose benefits will only be realised over time. It cannot, by itself, solve today’s emergency,” the statement read in part.
The ADC criticised the speed with which the National Assembly is processing the constitutional amendment, arguing that legislation with such far-reaching implications should undergo broad public consultation and careful consideration rather than being fast-tracked.
The party further questioned the timing of the proposal, asking why the administration waited until the latter part of its tenure before pushing for the constitutional amendment if it was genuinely committed to establishing state police.
“Legislation with such far-reaching implications for every Nigerian, and one that could fundamentally alter the country’s constitutional architecture, requires broad consultation and careful reflection,” it stated.
“Instead, what we are seeing is a government in desperate haste to amend the Constitution in order to create the impression that it is doing something about the country’s worsening insecurity.”
“After all, if President Tinubu were genuinely committed to state police, why did it take his administration almost until the end of its tenure to begin rushing through a constitutional amendment?” it asked.
It maintained that even if the legislation is passed, establishing functional state police commands would require significant investments in recruitment, training, funding, equipment, operational structures and independent oversight, making it unrealistic to expect immediate results.
The ADC also raised concerns over the absence of clear safeguards against political interference, questioning what measures would prevent state police from being used as instruments of political intimidation and who would oversee recruitment, deployment, discipline and funding.
According to the party, these issues must be addressed to ensure that state police strengthen security rather than becoming vulnerable to abuse.
The ADC also cautioned against treating state police as a substitute for broader security reforms, arguing that the Nigeria Police Force would continue to play a central role in counterterrorism, interstate crime and intelligence coordination. It added that improvements in policing must be complemented by reforms in the judiciary, correctional services, prosecution, intelligence gathering and forensic capacity.
