Key points
- Senior Advocate of Nigeria Olisa Agbakoba has called for broader devolution of powers beyond the proposed state police.
- He urged the Federal Government to transfer functions such as driver’s licences, prisons, marriage registration and business registration to states.
- Agbakoba warned that state police could be abused without strong constitutional safeguards.
- He proposed adopting South Africa’s model of constitutionally protected independent institutions.
- He said key public institutions should be insulated from executive interference through shared appointment, funding and removal processes.
Main story
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr Olisa Agbakoba, has called for wider constitutional devolution of powers following the Federal Government’s proposal to establish state police.
Agbakoba made the recommendation in a letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr George Akume, titled “Beyond State Police: Why Nigeria Must Constitutionally Insulate Its Institutions From Executive Interference.”
He said the establishment of state police should be accompanied by further devolution of responsibilities such as driver’s licences, prisons, marriage registration, arbitration, trade regulation, business name registration and other functions better handled by states and local governments.
According to him, transferring such responsibilities to sub-national governments would relieve the Federal Government of duties that could be managed more efficiently at lower levels.
Agbakoba, however, cautioned that the proposed state police could suffer the same fate as State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) and local government institutions, which he said had gradually become subject to executive control.
He argued that devolution without constitutional safeguards would fail to achieve meaningful reforms, warning that institutions lacking genuine independence often become instruments of executive power.
The senior lawyer commended President Bola Tinubu for transmitting the executive bill seeking to amend Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution to introduce state police, describing the move as a positive step towards improving public security.
He, however, urged the government to adopt constitutional safeguards similar to those in South Africa, where institutions such as the Public Protector, Electoral Commission and Human Rights Commission derive their independence directly from the constitution.
According to Agbakoba, Nigeria should extend similar constitutional protection to institutions including the Nigeria Police Force, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Judicial Council (NJC), National Human Rights Commission and other key public bodies.
He said these institutions should enjoy security of tenure, guaranteed funding through the Consolidated Revenue Fund and accountability to the legislature rather than the executive.
Agbakoba also proposed a shared appointment process for state police leadership, where the Police Service Commission would recommend candidates, governors would appoint them and state Houses of Assembly would confirm the appointments.
He said the same tripartite process should apply to the removal of police chiefs to prevent unilateral executive control.
The issues
The proposed introduction of state police has revived debate over Nigeria’s federal structure. While supporters believe decentralised policing will improve security, critics warn that without constitutional safeguards, state governments could misuse police powers for political purposes.
What’s being said
“Devolution without institutional protection is reform in name only.” — Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN)
“If state police were simply handed to governors without these protections, they would inevitably become tools of oppression.” — Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN)
What’s next
The National Assembly is expected to consider the proposed constitutional amendment on state police. Calls for broader constitutional reforms and stronger institutional safeguards are also likely to feature prominently in discussions as lawmakers deliberate on the bill.
Bottom line
Agbakoba says creating state police should form part of broader constitutional reforms that devolve more powers to states while protecting key institutions from political interference.
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