The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over the ongoing debate on state policing, arguing that it is inconsistent to entrust the Nigeria Police Force to the President while claiming elected governors cannot be trusted with state police.

Adebayo made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television, where he challenged one of the major arguments advanced by opponents of state police.

“If we don’t trust the governor, why should we trust the president?” he asked.

According to the former presidential candidate, concerns that governors could abuse state police powers should equally apply to the President, who oversees the federal police structure.

“History shows that governments use the police,” Adebayo said. “If that is the argument, why haven’t we abolished the presidency or the federal police?”

His comments come amid ongoing constitutional amendment discussions in the National Assembly on the establishment of state police. Among the proposals under consideration is a funding arrangement that would allow resources for state police formations to be deducted directly from states’ allocations from the Federation Account.

Adebayo rejected suggestions that states lack the capacity to manage their own police services, describing the current policing structure as inconsistent with the principles of federalism.

He argued that it was illogical for states to possess legislatures that make laws and courts that interpret them, while lacking the authority to enforce those laws through their own policing institutions.

According to him, policing is a fundamental responsibility of government and should be exercised by every tier of government within the limits prescribed by the Constitution.

The SDP chieftain maintained that the answer to security challenges was not the concentration of authority at the federal level, but the creation of policing structures that enable federal, state and local governments to discharge their responsibilities effectively.

Adebayo also dismissed concerns that state police would inevitably be abused by governors, noting that abuse of power is not peculiar to any single level of government.

“An abuse is an abuse whether it is committed by the local government, the state government or the Federal Government,” he said.

He argued that constitutional safeguards, institutional checks and democratic accountability should serve as the primary mechanisms for preventing misconduct, rather than excessive centralisation of power.

Drawing on his experience as a legal practitioner in the United States, Adebayo cited the New York Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department as examples of effective sub-national police organisations. He said local police forces often perform better because of their familiarity with the communities they serve.

He also referenced investigations conducted after the assassination of former United States President John F. Kennedy, noting that local law enforcement authorities played significant roles in uncovering facts surrounding the case.

Calling for what he described as genuine federalism, Adebayo urged Nigeria to embrace state policing as a natural feature of a federal system of government.

“We need to grow up. Once we say we are a federation—the very first word in our Constitution—we should behave like one,” he said.

On the proposal to fund state police through direct deductions from federal allocations, Adebayo said similar constitutional mechanisms already exist, pointing to arrangements designed to guarantee the financial autonomy of the judiciary.

He expressed confidence that some state police commands could eventually outperform the Nigeria Police Force in efficiency and service delivery if established on the principles of professionalism, accountability and the rule of law.