Lagos backs state police but seeks stronger state authority and clearer federal boundaries

The Lagos State House of Assembly has backed a constitutional amendment to establish state police, but says the proposal must give states clearer control over their policing systems and define how state and federal forces would operate together. Speaker Mudashiru Obasa raised the concerns during Tuesday’s plenary while lawmakers considered the Sixth Alteration Bill transmitted by the National Assembly. He described state policing as a potential response to Nigeria’s security problems, but warned that leaving substantial authority at the federal level could weaken the purpose of creating state police services.

Obasa said the amendment should specify the functions and responsibilities of each police structure. He argued that unclear differences in authority could produce an imbalance between the proposed state services and the existing Nigeria Police Force. The speaker directed the assembly clerk, Adenike Oshinowo, to communicate Lagos’s resolution to the National Assembly.

The Lagos position differs in emphasis from the account of proceedings in Sokoto, where lawmakers unanimously adopted the bill. According to Premium Times, Sokoto lawmaker Mustapha Abdullahi said the proposal would retain the Nigeria Police Force as the federal service while establishing state police services alongside it. Under the framework outlined in Sokoto, federal police would handle interstate and international crimes, terrorism, cybercrime, border security, policing of the Federal Capital Territory and protection of federal assets.

State police would be responsible for local law enforcement, public order and safety, protection of lives and property, and investigation of local crimes. The proposed system would allow the federal police to intervene in state policing at a governor’s request or when a breakdown of law and order exceeded the capacity of a state service. A state police commander would be appointed by the governor on the recommendation of the National Police Council and would require confirmation by the state assembly.

Sokoto lawmakers also said a State Police Service Commission would oversee the appointment, promotion and discipline of personnel, apart from the state commander. The commission would receive funding directly from the state Consolidated Revenue Fund. The federal police would continue operating in a state until its state service became operational.

The constitutional alteration requires resolutions from at least two-thirds of Nigeria’s state Houses of Assembly. Punch reported that nearly 25 states had already expressed support for the proposal, although the supplied reports do not provide a complete list or indicate how many assemblies have formally adopted it. Obasa separately called for dedicated parliamentary policing to protect legislative institutions from executive interference.

He referred to past incidents in which legislative complexes were allegedly demolished or locked at governors’ direction, arguing that security arrangements for legislatures would help preserve their independence. Sokoto’s adoption and Lagos’s qualified endorsement show broad support for the idea, but also underline unresolved questions over command, funding and the balance of federal and state authority.