ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s parliament approved legislation that would allow each of the country’s 36 states to establish its own police force, a sweeping security reform driven by years of federal failure to protect communities — particularly Christians — from terrorist attacks and militant violence.
The measure, backed by President Bola Tinubu, still requires approval by at least two-thirds of Nigeria’s state assemblies before it can take effect. If implemented, it would end decades of exclusively centralized policing run from Abuja, where federal officers are frequently deployed far from their home regions with little knowledge of the communities they serve. For Western readers and policymakers, the reform carries direct significance: the United States returned Nigeria to its Countries of Particular Concern list in 2025, citing severe violations of religious freedom.
The bill’s momentum reflects a grim record. International Christian Concern has documented numerous cases in which vulnerable Christian communities reported warnings of impending attacks to federal authorities but received no protection. In 2022, residents of Owo in southwestern Nigeria repeatedly raised concerns about insecurity before ISWAP-linked militants attacked St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church during Pentecost services, killing dozens of worshippers. Questions about intelligence failures and the lack of a timely response persisted long after the massacre.
Communities in southern Kaduna state have for years reported that attacks by armed Fulani militants conclude before security forces arrive, despite the presence of military installations nearby. Survivors and church leaders have accused authorities of failing to act on warnings or intervene quickly enough to protect vulnerable populations. Tens of thousands have been killed or abducted by terrorist groups and militant Fulani extremists across Nigeria, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
Boko Haram, founded as an Islamist movement in 2002 before launching a violent insurgency in 2009, splintered over time into multiple factions, including ISWAP, which aligned itself with the global Islamic State movement. While many Muslims have also suffered, Christians have borne a disproportionate share of the violence — churches, pastors, Christian villages, and religious leaders have repeatedly been singled out for attack. Successive governments under former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, and now under Tinubu, have struggled to contain the violence despite increased military spending and repeated promises of reform.
The proposal carries risks alongside its promise. Human rights advocates have warned that governors could misuse state police forces against political opponents or minority communities. During the tenure of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, security forces were selectively deployed against peaceful protesters while failing to confront extremist violence affecting Christian populations in southern Kaduna. Advocates argue that for state policing to succeed, it must be accompanied by robust accountability mechanisms, transparency, and protections for individual freedoms.
The legislation now moves to Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies, where it needs ratification by at least 24 before it can be signed into law by Tinubu.