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The Attorney General and Commissioner Justice in Ondo State, Kayode Ajulo, has spotted constitutional contradictions as the reason for the inability of governments at all levels to provide security for the citizens.
He then advocated the review of the 1999 Constitution in a way that accommodates state police.
Mr Ajulo, a senior advocate of Nigeria, in a statement on Sunday, said the 1999 constitution is contradictory in relation to state police, which makes it difficult for the state government to tackle insecurity headlong.
He noted that the section 14(2) (b) of the constitution which places the security of the citizens in the government contradicts section 214 (1) of the constitution which stipulates one Police Force.
“Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), provides that ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government,” he said.
“That provision is not a pious aspiration. It is a constitutional command. Every institution of government must ultimately be measured against its capacity to fulfil that obligation.”
However, he said, ” Section 214(1) of the Constitution presently establishes ‘one Police Force for Nigeria,” consequently arguing that the establishment of State Police requires a constitutional amendment rather than a executive fiat.
Mr Ajulo lamented that farmers could no longer go to farms because of insecurity, while parents withdrew their children from boarding schools because of the activities of kidnappers.
He said villages and communities are now organising vigilantes to check the activities of bandits.
Given reasons for the review of the constitution, Mr Ajulo said, “Constitutions are not mere legal texts. They are living instruments through which societies organise power in pursuit of peace, order, and good governance.
“When circumstances change, institutions must evolve. When realities shift, governance structures must adapt. A nation that refuses to reform eventually finds itself governed by yesterday’s assumptions in today’s world.”
He also blamed successive military regimes for the central police, which made it difficult for the force to effectively curb crimes in the country.
“Before Independence on October 1, 1960, and in the years immediately following it, the regions exercised substantial control over security administration within their territories” he asserted.
“The Western Region, under the visionary leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, understood that governance was most effective when institutions were closest to the people they served. Security, like education and healthcare, was viewed as a practical responsibility requiring local knowledge, cultural familiarity, and administrative responsiveness.
“The military intervention of January 15, 1966, and the centralisation that followed fundamentally altered that trajectory. Powers that had once been exercised closer to the people became concentrated at the centre.”
He further argued that even though the nation grew into a federation of over 200million people, the politicing framework designs for a far smaller nation was retained.
He noted that the security threats are local in execution but national in consequence, revealing that criminal networks exploit forests, borders, technology, and community vulnerabilities with alarming sophistication, while our security architecture often remains constrained by excessive centralisation.
“That perhaps explains why the call for State Police has persisted across generations. Successive constitutional conferences have recommended it. Security experts have advocated it. Governors have endorsed it. Traditional rulers have supported it. Citizens across political, ethnic, and religious divides increasingly recognise its necessity” he said.
“The argument is straightforward. A police officer familiar with the language, terrain, customs, and intelligence networks of a community is often better positioned to prevent crime than one operating from a distant command structure.
“Security intelligence gathered locally is frequently more accurate and actionable than intelligence transmitted through multiple bureaucratic layers.”
Mr Ajulo added that the State Police conversation was not a demand for disorder but a call for intelligent adaptation, noting that it is an acknowledgement that a federation must possess the courage to align its institutions with contemporary realities.
The Ondo State Government is currenting operating its security network known as Amotekun, following the intervention of South West governors led by the late Governor Oluwqrotimi Akeredolu.
Mr Akeredolu championed the call for state police and had empowered Amotekun through an Act of the House of Assembly.
But the security agency had largely been handicapped because it did not possess automatic weapons necessary to contain banditry and other terrorists activities within the forests of the state.
Government officials believe that Amotekun could readily transform into the state’s police force when the constitution is ammended, allowing it access to the necessary equipment to provide security for the state.