Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has backed the Federal Government’s move to introduce state police, but warned that the reform would fail without constitutional safeguards to protect law enforcement agencies and other public institutions from executive interference.
He said this in a letter dated June 26, 2026, addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. George Akume.
Agbakoba commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for transmitting to the National Assembly an executive Bill seeking to amend Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for state police.
According to him, the proposal is “a welcome development that will, if properly implemented, enhance public security and bring law enforcement closer to the communities it serves”.
The senior lawyer, however, said the proposed reform should trigger a wider conversation on constitutional devolution, arguing that responsibilities including drivers’ licences, prisons, marriage registration, arbitration, trade regulation, and registration of business names should also be considered for transfer to states and local governments.
“Beyond the question of state police, the moment also invites a broader conversation,” he said, adding that such reforms would relieve the Federal Government of responsibilities that could be managed more efficiently at the subnational level.
Agbakoba warned that state police could suffer the same fate as State Independent Electoral Commissions and local governments if constitutional protections were not built into the system.
“Devolution without institutional protection is reform in name only, and history has shown that where institutions lack genuine constitutional protection, they inevitably become instruments of executive power rather than servants of the people and the Constitution,” he said.
He pointed to South Africa’s Constitution as a model Nigeria should adopt, noting that Chapter 9 establishes institutions supporting constitutional democracy and protects them from executive interference through constitutional guarantees.
According to him, institutions derive their independence directly from the Constitution, enjoy security of tenure, receive guaranteed funding, and are accountable to Parliament rather than the executive.
“The result is that in South Africa, neither the President nor any provincial governor can dictate to or manipulate these critical institutions,” he said.
Agbakoba argued that critical Nigerian institutions, including the Nigeria Police Force, Independent National Electoral Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Central Bank of Nigeria, National Judicial Council, Attorney General, Accountant General, National Human Rights Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, and Office of the Public Defender, should be constitutionally insulated from executive control.
He said such institutions should enjoy security of tenure, have their funding charged directly to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and be accountable to the National Assembly or State Houses of Assembly instead of the president or state governors.
The learned Silk said the proposal aligns with what Professor Ben Nwabueze described as the concept of limited government, under which executive powers are restrained by independent institutions guaranteed by the Constitution.
He said: “If the proposed state police framework is built on this constitutional architecture of independence and accountability, it is a welcome and progressive development.
“If not, if state police are simply handed to governors without these protections, they will inevitably become tools of oppression, and Nigeria will have traded one problem for a far worse one.”
To prevent political interference, Agbakoba proposed an interlocking appointment, funding, and removal process similar to that of the judiciary.
He explained that under the arrangement, the Police Service Commission would recommend qualified candidates to the governor, the governor would appoint them, while the State House of Assembly would confirm the appointments.
He added: “The same tripartite structure should govern removal, so that no single arm of government can unilaterally install or dislodge the head of the police.
“This architecture of shared constitutional responsibility is the surest guarantee against executive capture and the politicisation of law enforcement.”
Agbakoba urged the Federal Government to give serious consideration to the constitutional reforms proposed in his submission.
