Former Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, has called on President Bola Tinubu to restructure Nigeria’s security framework to firmly position the police as the lead agency in internal security and reduce military involvement in domestic affairs.
Speaking at the 20th anniversary and 16th Passing-Out Parade of the Police Secondary School in Ondo State, Ehindero emphasized:
The constitutionally mandated police force should take over internal security duties, while the military focuses on border protection and other external threats.
The Police Mobile Force should be ramped up and deployed in place of soldiers for routine security tasks.
Military visibility in internal affairs should be scaled back to avoid undermining the role of the police.
Various civic groups and experts—including Afenifere, YYSA, and research think tanks like Nextier SPD—have also advocated for restructuring Nigeria’s security architecture. Common themes across their calls include:
Establishing state police as a critical component of decentralized security management.
Deploying modern technology (e.g., drones, real-time data systems) to curb kidnapping, terrorism, and banditry.
Licensing and reinforcing regional security outfits like Amotekun, alongside improved coordination with federal agencies.
Creating command-and-control centres in local government areas for enhanced intelligence sharing.
At a national security dialogue organized by Parliament and the National Security Adviser’s office:
President Tinubu’s team acknowledged the need for a more adaptive and cooperative security architecture, urging legal reforms to facilitate intelligence-sharing across agencies.
Emphases were placed on integrating cybersecurity, harmonizing the roles of security institutions, and embedding state police within the legal framework to reflect current threats and realities.
Nigeria’s security environment remains extremely challenging: Nextier SPD records show 252 insurgent attacks between November 2024 and April 2025, resulting in 100+ military and 200+ civilian fatalities.
Critics argue that the current architecture is over-centralized, inflexible, and insufficiently responsive to localized threats.
Formal reform efforts—including constitutional amendments and revising command structures—are seen as necessary to provide sustained, sustainable, and localised security solutions.
Ex‑IGP Sunday Ehindero has called on President Tinubu to recast Nigeria’s security architecture—emphasizing a police-led approach to internal threats and a clear delineation of roles for military and civilian agencies. This aligns with a broader consensus among civic groups and policy researchers, who argue that modern, decentralized, and legislatively grounded security reform is essential to address Nigeria’s complex threat landscape.
