By Kelvin Adegbenga
“Being a police officer is not just a job; it’s a calling to serve and protect with courage, compassion, and integrity.”
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Nigeria Police Act (as amended) are unambiguous about the role of the Nigeria Police Force.
The police are constitutionally mandated to maintain law and order, protect lives and property, prevent and detect crime, and enforce all laws across the federation.
This responsibility is foundational to national security, democratic stability, and economic development. It is also anchored on respect for fundamental human rights, regulated use of force, and an increasing shift toward community-focused policing. That mandate has not changed.
Yet, the reality of Nigeria’s evolving security landscape suggests a gradual but troubling diffusion of police responsibilities to other actors.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), a paramilitary agency originally established to protect critical national assets and provide auxiliary support, increasingly performs core policing functions.
The recently introduced Forest Guards, federally backed under the Office of the National Security Adviser and deployed to flush out terrorists and criminals from forest hideouts, are assuming operational roles that overlap significantly with conventional policing.
Even more striking is the growing conversation around licensing and arming private security firms under strict regulation, a move that would further blur the lines of constitutional responsibility.
These developments raise a fundamental question: if multiple agencies are performing police duties, who ultimately bears constitutional responsibility for internal security?
The answer, according to Nigeria’s grundnorm, remains the Nigeria Police Force.
The Presidency must be reminded that the constitutional duty of the Nigeria Police Force, to secure the nation and its people while upholding the rule of law and human rights, remains intact.
Creating parallel forces or dispersing policing authority across agencies without a clear constitutional hierarchy risks institutional confusion, accountability gaps, and operational rivalry.
Security effectiveness does not come from a multiplicity of uniforms; it comes from clarity of command, coordination, and accountability.
Equally concerning is the renewed agitation for state police. While the demand is often framed as a solution to insecurity, it carries profound risks that cannot be ignored.
In Nigeria’s current political context, state police could easily become tools of political intimidation in the hands of governors. Funding disparities between states would create uneven security capacities, while ethnic and regional loyalties could further strain national cohesion. Rather than strengthening security, state police may weaken the constitutional authority and national character of the Nigeria Police Force.
A more prudent path lies not in fragmenting policing but in strengthening it.
Nigeria does not lack a police force capable of maintaining law and order; it lacks a police force that is adequately funded, well-equipped, and firmly governed by transparency and accountability.
Under a disciplined and reform-driven Inspector-General of Police, supported by the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Police Trust Fund, and the Police Service Commission, the Nigeria Police Force has the potential to deliver effective, professional, and rights-respecting policing across the federation.
To achieve this, structural clarity is essential. The NSCDC, forest guards, and any licensed private security firms should not operate as parallel or competing forces.
Instead, they should be brought under a unified internal security command coordinated by the Inspector-General of Police. Each unit can retain its specialised function but operate under the operational control of the IGP, with a Deputy Inspector-General of Police heading each unit.
This model preserves specialisation while ensuring constitutional compliance, professional standards, and a single chain of accountability.
Such an arrangement would also address concerns about oversight, use of force, and human rights compliance.
A centralised command under the police framework would make it easier to enforce standards, investigate abuses, and ensure that all internal security actors serve the public interest, not political, commercial, or sectional agendas.
Nigeria’s security challenge is real, but the solution does not lie in sidelining the institution constitutionally designed to protect the nation.
The Nigeria Police Force remains the cornerstone of internal security. What it needs is not replacement but reform, not dilution but support, and not competition but coordination.
In securing Nigeria, the Constitution must remain our compass.
Kelvin Adegbenga is the National Coordinator of Integrity Youth Alliance. kelvinadegbenga@yahoo.com@kelvinadegbenga