By Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
The Oghara Study Group (OSG), in partnership with the Palace of the Ovie of Oghara Kingdom, is set to submit community-based recommendations on police reform to the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill.
The group announced this after concluding the Oghara Pre-Town Hall Webinar on State Policing Reform, held virtually on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
In a statement signed by the Co-Conveners of the Oghara Study Group, Rev. David Ugolor and Prof. Charles Eghweree, the organisation said the webinar was organised ahead of the Oghara Stakeholders’ Town Hall Meeting on Security and Development, scheduled for Saturday, August 15, 2026.
The webinar, themed “From Community Crisis to National Reform: Rethinking State Policing through the Oghara Experience,” brought together traditional rulers, political leaders, academics, civil society organisations, policing experts, governance professionals and community representatives.
The discussions focused on Nigeria’s evolving state-policing debate and the security challenges confronting communities, using Oghara as a case study.
According to the organisers, the initiative was designed to move beyond expressions of concern and enable the Oghara community to develop evidence-based recommendations that could contribute to the national consultation on police reform.
The Ovie of Oghara Kingdom provided traditional and institutional support for the initiative, while former Delta State Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, delivered special remarks on the state-policing debate and its connection to true federalism.
Ibori encouraged the Oghara community to develop and present its own position as part of the ongoing national reform process.
Also speaking, the President-General of the Oghara Elite Forum, Dr. Jacob Ighere, stressed the importance of developing a policing system capable of responding to the diverse security realities of communities across Nigeria.
The webinar featured contributions from civil society and governance experts, including Dr. Sonia Warner, an international development and policing specialist and former FCDO staff; Dr. Uche Igwe, a public policy and governance analyst; Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC); Olumayowa Olaniyi of the CLEEN Foundation; and Prof. Charles Eghweree, a political scientist and Co-Convener of the Oghara Study Group.
The experts examined issues including community policing, institutional accountability, human rights, local intelligence, public trust, sustainable funding, professional standards and the risk of political interference.
State Police Alone Not Enough for Police Reform
A major conclusion from the webinar was that the creation of state police should not automatically be equated with comprehensive police reform.
Participants acknowledged that decentralised policing could bring security closer to communities and improve the use of local intelligence. However, they warned that without adequate safeguards, state policing could reproduce existing weaknesses or create new challenges, including political interference, impunity and human rights abuses.
They therefore advocated a state-policing framework that operates as a professional public service, responds to citizens’ needs, incorporates local knowledge and remains subject to effective democratic oversight.
Participants identified 10 priority areas for consideration in the proposed reforms.
These include constitutional and legal safeguards against political, ethnic, religious and sectional capture; independent civilian oversight and complaints mechanisms with investigative and sanctioning powers; merit-based recruitment and vetting; continuous professional training; protection of human rights and due process; clear rules governing firearms and the use of force; transparent and sustainable funding; and meaningful participation by traditional institutions, civil society, women, youths and farmers.
Other recommendations include strengthening community intelligence systems, independently monitoring public confidence in the police and adopting a phased, evidence-based approach to implementing state policing.
Oghara Security Challenges
The webinar also examined specific security challenges confronting Oghara, including kidnapping, violent attacks, threats to farmers and livelihoods, drug-related risks and inadequate follow-up and accountability.
Participants noted that insecurity has broader consequences for freedom of movement, farming, food security, education, investment, healthcare and economic activities.
Following the webinar, the Oghara Study Group said it would work with the Palace of the Ovie of Oghara Kingdom and other stakeholders to consolidate the recommendations into an Oghara Declaration on Security and Development and a Policy Memorandum on the National Policing Bill.
The proposed memorandum will advocate constitutional protection for political neutrality and human rights, independent civilian oversight, clear recruitment and training standards, transparent funding, strict firearms controls and clearly defined relations between federal and state police authorities.
It will also promote institutionalised community participation and measures linking security reforms to youth employment and livelihood protection.
The recommendations will form part of the discussions at the Oghara Stakeholders’ Town Hall Meeting on Security and Development on Saturday.
The meeting is expected to broaden consultations to include traditional institutions, women, youths, farmers, professionals, businesses and other community leaders.
The final Oghara Declaration and Policy Memorandum will subsequently be submitted to the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill.
“The ultimate objective is not simply to establish another layer of policing, but to help build a security system that protects citizens, earns public trust, respects rights, uses local knowledge, prevents impunity and makes government more accountable,” the statement said.
It added that the Oghara experience showed that communities affected by insecurity could move beyond being passive victims and become active participants in developing solutions and shaping national policies affecting their future.
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