Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has urged the Federal Government to constitutionally insulate state police and other critical public institutions from executive interference, warning that without strong safeguards, the proposed state police system could become another instrument of political oppression.
Agbakoba made the call in a letter dated June 26, 2026, made available to The PUNCH on Monday, and addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr George Akume, in which he welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Bill seeking to amend Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution to establish state police.
While describing the proposed decentralisation of policing as a “welcome development,” the senior advocate cautioned that devolution without institutional independence would merely replicate the failures witnessed with State Independent Electoral Commissions and local governments.
“Devolution without institutional protection is reform in name only.
“History has shown that where institutions lack genuine constitutional protection, they inevitably become instruments of executive power rather than servants of the people and the Constitution,” Agbakoba said.
