State Police Alone Cannot Solve Insecurity, Says Ezekwesili
Former Minister of Education Obiageli Ezekwesili has told President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum that the proposed state police will not resolve Nigeria’s insecurity crisis without comprehensive constitutional restructuring.
In an open letter shared on Monday across her social media platforms, Ezekwesili argued that the Tinubu administration’s renewed push for state police has reopened one of the most consequential public policy debates in the country’s democratic history. She said the security architecture is failing under a centrally controlled police force that cannot adequately secure lives and property for a population exceeding 230 million.
Ezekwesili cited recent Afrobarometer findings showing that 79 per cent of Nigerians consider kidnapping and abduction a serious national problem, 33 per cent personally know someone who has been kidnapped in the last five years, and 63 per cent say they or a family member felt unsafe in their home or neighbourhood in the previous year. She described these figures as indicators of a profound crisis of state effectiveness and citizen confidence.
While acknowledging that state police appears necessary to many citizens, Ezekwesili maintained that it is not sufficient. She argued that the security crisis is not fundamentally a policing problem but a manifestation of a deeper constitutional, governance and political economy crisis that has eroded state capacity and weakened public institutions.
The former minister pointed to the 1999 Constitution’s allocation of powers, noting that the Exclusive Legislative List contains 68 items reserved solely for the Federal Government while the Concurrent List covers only a limited number of shared subjects. She stated that policing is merely one of those 68 items monopolised by the centre, and that Nigeria’s current federal structure in many respects operates as a unitary system in federal clothing.
Ezekwesili linked insecurity to economic underperformance and weak public service delivery, describing them as products of the same constitutional dysfunction. She said the proper national conversation should focus on whether the constitutional architecture remains fit for purpose rather than on whether governors should control police forces.
This intervention comes amid persistent violence across regions and renewed legislative interest in state police as a response to the limitations of the federal police structure. Past proposals, including recommendations from the 2014 National Conference for state police and greater devolution of powers, have remained largely unimplemented. Data from monitoring groups show continued high levels of attacks and fatalities linked to banditry, terrorism and communal conflicts in 2025 and into 2026.
Ezekwesili called for a comprehensive restructuring agenda anchored in a new constitutional settlement. She warned against further delays and urged Nigerians to treat the redesign of the federation as an urgent priority rather than a postponed conversation.
Legal and governance analysts expect the letter to intensify debate in the National Assembly and among state governors as discussions on security sector reforms continue ahead of the 2027 general elections. The position aligns with long-standing advocacy for true federalism but faces resistance from those who view state police as a more immediate and practical step.