The Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN) has cautioned against what it described as a hurried approach to establishing state police, insisting that any constitutional amendment on the issue should be subjected to broad national consultation and transparent public hearings.
Speaking on behalf of the council, the Assistant Secretary-General of the SCSN, Ustaz Abubakar Muhammad, said the organisation was not opposed to the creation of state police but rejected any attempt to introduce the policy without adequate planning, funding and consensus.
According to him, a rushed implementation would fundamentally alter Nigeria’s security architecture without addressing the underlying challenges confronting the country’s policing system.
“The Shariah Council is not against state police. We are opposed to a rushed, unguarded and unfunded rollout of state police. We oppose a constitutional amendment that is rushed and would alter Nigeria’s security architecture without national consensus,” Muhammad said.
He argued that presenting state police as a quick solution to Nigeria’s security challenges would only transfer existing problems from the federal level to the states if fundamental reforms are not first undertaken.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Adeleke’s Fears Come True as EFCC Freezes Osun Government Account
Muhammad identified inadequate professionalism, poor training and flaws in the recruitment process within the Nigeria Police Force as the core issues requiring urgent attention.
“If you do not address the problems in the current force and simply transfer the same system to the states, you are not solving the problem. You are only relocating it, and it will continue,” he added.
The SCSN called for a transparent public hearing and wider national engagement before any constitutional amendment on state police is considered, stressing that reforms should focus on strengthening professionalism, accountability and operational efficiency within the existing policing framework.
