State police: Sharia council demands broader engagement before rollout

The Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria (SCSN) has advised the Federal Government and the National Assembly against rushing the constitutional amendment process for establishing state police. The council insists that extensive national consultations must precede any final decision on this proposed reform.

While acknowledging Nigeria's worsening insecurity requires urgent action, the SCSN cautioned that state police should not be presented as a simple solution. The council, which has been monitoring the debate, views the issue as having profound implications for justice, national unity, and the country's future. It highlighted that Nigeria faces a severe security crisis, with widespread loss of life, displacement, and destruction.

The SCSN stated that efforts to improve national security are welcome, but the root causes of the current security architecture's shortcomings lie in inadequate funding, corruption, poor welfare, insufficient personnel, weak intelligence, obsolete equipment, and poor coordination. The council believes the immediate priority should be comprehensive reform and strengthening of existing institutions through improved funding, recruitment, technology, intelligence gathering, border security, accountability, and professionalism.

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The immediate priority should therefore be the comprehensive reform and strengthening of existing security institutions through improved funding, recruitment, modern technology, intelligence gathering, border security, accountability and professionalism.

Transferring policing powers to state governments, the SCSN argued, will not automatically resolve these structural deficiencies. The council expressed concern over the apparent haste in pursuing constitutional amendments for state police, emphasizing that such significant changes require transparent public hearings and broad consensus among stakeholders. They commended lawmakers advocating for due process and wider consultations.

Furthermore, the SCSN warned that without adequate constitutional safeguards, state police could become tools for political intimidation and discrimination. Given Nigeria's religious, ethnic, and political diversity, the council stressed the need for a policing system that ensures equal protection for all citizens.

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The council also warned that, without adequate constitutional safeguards, state police could become instruments of political intimidation and discrimination.