Nigeria Moves Toward Decentralizing Policing with New Executive Bill

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu transmitted an Executive Bill to the National Assembly on June 24, 2026, seeking to move policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List. The move, developed with input from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, aims to decentralize security and improve the national police-to-citizen ratio by potentially adding 300,000 to 400,000 personnel through the integration of regional outfits.

During a series of town hall meetings in Abuja, stakeholders debated the implementation of the reform. Senator Adams Oshiomhole argued that governors cannot effectively serve as chief security officers without operational control over recruitment and deployment. Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun expressed confidence that all 36 State Houses of Assembly would approve the constitutional amendment, though he emphasized the need for accompanying judicial reforms, such as creating State Courts of Appeal, and fiscal frameworks to ensure sustainability across states.

While there is broad consensus that the centralized system is obsolete, warnings remain regarding political abuse. Minister of Defence Christopher Musa cautioned that without adequate safeguards, the system could either be a silver bullet or a disaster. Presidential aide Dubem Moghalu clarified that the government is drafting a National Policing Bill to establish operational frameworks, specifically noting that Nigeria will not replicate the American policing model. Other contributors, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, suggested hybrid models to balance localized human intelligence with federal signal intelligence.