Senator Adams Oshiomhole has backed the creation of state police, insisting that governors cannot effectively secure their states unless they have constitutional authority to command, recruit, deploy and discipline police officers.
Speaking at the ARISE News Town Hall on State Police, the senator representing Edo North said Nigeria’s current policing structure was fundamentally flawed because governors are designated as chief security officers without having operational control over the police.
The former Edo State governor argued that the contradiction had weakened security across the country and called for urgent constitutional reforms to align responsibility with authority.
“If I am called the chief security officer of a state, then I must have the instruments to discharge that responsibility. I cannot give orders, recruit, promote or discipline officers. It is like calling me a husband when I have no wife,” he said.
Oshiomhole dismissed arguments that poor funding, inadequate manpower and logistics were the major problems facing the Nigeria Police Force, maintaining that decentralising policing had become inevitable because the existing system had failed.
He also rejected claims that many states lacked the financial capacity to sustain state police, saying governments fund what they consider important.
According to him, priorities determine spending, adding that every level of government must be prepared to invest adequately in security if state police become a reality.
Drawing from his experience as governor of Edo State, Oshiomhole said he spent substantial public funds procuring operational vehicles, communication equipment and other logistics for the police, despite having no authority over how those assets were managed.
He lamented that governors could not discipline officers even when security assets were mismanaged, abused or stolen.
Addressing fears that governors could weaponise state police against political opponents, the senator argued that abuse of power already existed under the centrally controlled policing system.
He maintained that democratic institutions, including elections and the media, provided sufficient checks against any governor who might misuse state police.
Oshiomhole recalled instances during his administration when suspects arrested by the police were allegedly released on directives from Abuja, despite local security concerns.
He also cited the assassination of one of his personal assistants, saying conflicting reports by the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police left him unable to ensure accountability.
The senator further narrated how a former Commissioner of Police allegedly refused to honour his invitation following a major fire incident in Edo State, describing the experience as evidence of the limitations imposed on governors under the current arrangement.
He argued that unless the Constitution was amended to remove governors’ designation as chief security officers, they should be given full operational control over policing in their states.
Oshiomhole said the debate over state police had continued for too long without concrete action, warning that Nigeria could not expect different security outcomes while retaining the same policing structure.
He noted that federal systems such as that of the United States successfully operated both federal and state police, arguing that the two institutions complemented each other rather than competed.
The senator also pointed to the establishment of agencies such as the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps as evidence that the Federal Government had already recognised the need for multiple security institutions.
According to him, state police would improve accountability by ensuring citizens know exactly who should be held responsible whenever security fails.
“If citizens are under attack, the governor should be able to deploy his men immediately. If he fails, the people can hold him accountable at the next election,” Oshiomhole said.
