Nigeria continues to grapple with widespread insecurity, ranging from terrorism and banditry to kidnapping and armed robbery which success governments have promised to arrest the situation but have not being able to grapple with. To address these challenges effectively, it is essential to reimagine and restructure the country’s policing architecture by adopting a multi-tiered approach rooted in accountability, adequate funding and local involvement of community stakeholders whom are the first line of intelligence gathering.
Living in South Africa offers a practical example of how organized policing can help prevent and manage security threats. In South Africa, the policing structure is well defined. The national government oversees the South African Police Service (SAPS), which is professionally trained, centrally coordinated, and funded directly by the national treasury. At the same time, municipalities—South Africa’s equivalent of local governments—are empowered to generate internal revenue and maintain their own metro police departments responsible for traffic enforcement, by-law compliance,
and crime prevention within their jurisdictions.
This decentralised approach enables real-time monitoring and early intervention in potential security threats. While provinces do not maintain independent police forces, they participate in oversight functions, ensuring that national and metro police services remain accountable and responsive.
In contrast, Nigeria’s security framework is heavily centralised, with only the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) under federal control. Yet, security funding is often disbursed as “security votes” to state governors, many of whom operate with minimal transparency or measurable outcomes. This one-size-fits-all model is clearly inadequate for a country as large, diverse, and complex as Nigeria because it has overstretched the Nigeria Police Force beyond it’s capacity and capabilities.
To tackle insecurity more effectively, Nigeria should adopt a three-tier policing system with:
A National Police Force – Funded and controlled by the Federal Government to manage interstate and national threats such as terrorism, cybercrime, and organized crime.
State Police Forces – Under the supervision and funding of state governments, with jurisdiction over state-level security matters, including local militancy and civil unrest.
Local (Community) Police – Operated and financed by local governments to address grassroots concerns such as burglary, domestic disputes, traffic control and early detection of threats.
Each tier of the these police forces should be fully equipped, well-trained and professionally armed to global standards and more mportantly, all officers—regardless of the tier—must be placed on attractive remuneration and insurance packages, including death-in-service and accident coverage just like the Rapid Response Squad in Lagos State. This will not only incentivize service but also elevate the prestige of police work in the eyes of the public and attract young intelligent people that are patriotic and truly inspired to become policemen.
Wearing the police uniform in Nigeria should be a source of national pride and respect. The era where security officers are underpaid, undertrained, and underappreciated must come to an end if the country is to win its war against insecurity.
Ultimately, decentralizing policing and empowering local governments, alongside transparent funding models, would go a long way in ensuring proactive and people-oriented security across the country with a bottom to top approach which is community oriented and people focused guaranteeing National security and safety. If implemented correctly, this reform could mark a turning point in Nigeria’s fight against insecurity.
Written by Bola Babarinde, South Africa
