The Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN) has cautioned the Federal Government and the National Assembly against rushing the constitutional amendment process aimed at establishing state police, insisting that broader consultations are necessary before any final decision is taken.
In a statement issued by its Secretary-General, Nafiu Baba Ahmad, the council said it had been closely following the ongoing national debate and legislative process on state policing, describing the proposal as a critical issue with far-reaching implications for justice, national unity and Nigeria’s future.
The council acknowledged that Nigeria is facing one of its worst security crises, noting that widespread insecurity has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions of people, disrupted farming and business activities, and left many communities living in fear.
According to the SCSN, while there is an urgent need to strengthen the country’s security architecture, the creation of state police should not be regarded as a “quick fix” or a universal solution to the nation’s security challenges.
The Islamic body argued that Nigeria’s security problems are rooted in systemic issues, including inadequate funding, corruption, poor welfare for security personnel, insufficient manpower, weak intelligence gathering, obsolete equipment and poor coordination among security agencies.
It maintained that simply transferring policing powers to state governments would not automatically resolve these longstanding challenges.
Instead, the council called for comprehensive reforms of existing security institutions through increased funding, improved recruitment, enhanced intelligence capabilities, deployment of modern technology, stronger border security, greater accountability and higher standards of professionalism.
The SCSN also expressed concern over what it described as the pace of the constitutional amendment process on state police, warning that reforms of such national importance should not be rushed.
It urged the government and lawmakers to ensure extensive public consultations, transparent public hearings and broad national consensus before making any constitutional changes on the proposed state police system.
