(Buba Galadima. Photo Credit: Daily Post)
A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Buba Galadima, has argued that the proposed creation of state police will not solve Nigeria’s insecurity challenges, warning that it could instead be used by political officeholders to suppress opposition.
Galadima stated this on Tuesday during an interview on a television breakfast programme.
He was reacting to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, recently passed by the National Assembly and currently before the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration.
Questioning the effectiveness of the proposed state police, Galadima said Nigeria’s security problems would not be resolved merely by creating another policing structure, wondering how state police would be able to solve security situations when the Nigerian Police and the Nigerian Military have been unable to do so.
The elder statesman alleged that the push for state police was politically motivated, claiming it could be deployed by elected officials during the 2027 elections.
He stated that all that is known is that the president and the governors are looking for state police before the elections so that they can be used as political thugs to attack the opposition, disrupt the election and undermine democracy.
Galadima also cited his experience during the era of the Native Authority Police, alleging that the institution was abused to intimidate and detain political opponents ahead of elections.
He recalled being old enough to witness what happened during that era, explaining that as elections approached, the Native Authority Police would gather opposition elements within their territorial jurisdiction and lock them up, sometimes on flimsy accusations such as disrespecting an Emir, chief or judge, or even wearing shoes in the presence of a seated village head, before clamping them into detention.
According to Galadima, the alleged misuse of the Native Authority Police contributed to the migration of many people from parts of Northern Nigeria.
He further argued that state police could deepen ethnic and religious divisions if recruitment were dominated by particular groups in individual states, warning that the policy could be used to undermine national unity if certain states allowed only one tribe or religion to constitute their state police, leaving people from other parts of the country without the liberty to live and conduct business as guaranteed by the Constitution.
He concluded that the proposed policing structure would create more problems, more division and more suspicion than it would solve.
The National Assembly recently passed the State Police Bill as part of the ongoing constitutional amendment process.
The proposal requires approval by at least 24 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly before it can proceed to the next stage of the constitutional amendment process.