By Cross Udo, Abuja
The National Association of Seadogs (NAS), also known as the Pyrates Confraternity, has declared that Nigeria’s centralised policing structure has become ineffective in tackling the country’s worsening security challenges, calling for urgent constitutional reforms to decentralise policing and strengthen local security responses.
The group made the call at its 2026 Feast of Barracuda held in Abuja, where security experts, retired law enforcement officers and policy stakeholders examined the future of state policing in Nigeria.
Opening the annual public discourse, the Capoon of NAS, Dr Joseph Oteri, said the nation’s security architecture was struggling under the weight of increasingly complex and localised threats.
“Centralised policing for a 200-million-strong, geographically diverse nation is no longer tenable,” Oteri declared.
He argued that the security realities confronting different parts of the country have exposed the limitations of a system controlled exclusively from Abuja.
“Nigerians are dying. Communities are under siege. The architecture we have relied upon is straining under the weight of challenges it was never designed to bear,” he said.
Oteri questioned the logic of a structure that leaves state governors, who are directly accountable to the people, without operational control over security personnel in their states.
“You cannot administer policing for over 200 million people from Abuja and expect local problems to be solved. A governor, elected by the people and accountable to the people, cannot command a single officer in his own state. Something is structurally wrong.”
According to him, the persistence of banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and violent crimes across the country demands a security framework that is closer to the people and more responsive to local realities.
The NAS leader, however, cautioned that decentralisation must be accompanied by strong accountability measures to prevent abuse.
“Decentralisation without accountability is not reform. It is a transfer of danger,” he warned.
Also speaking, the Capoon of Zuma Deck, Linus Igwe, said Nigeria had reached a point where fundamental reforms to its security system could no longer be postponed.
“The traditional, centralised model can no longer carry the full weight of modern security realities,” he said.
A retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Austin Iwar, noted that the debate over state policing had become unavoidable as regional security outfits and vigilante groups continued to fill gaps left by conventional policing structures.
“The debate has moved from the margins to the centre of our national conversation,” he stated.
Iwar proposed a dual policing model in which the Federal Police would focus on terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime and border security, while state police would handle local crimes and community-based security challenges.
He warned, however, that political interference, ethnic bias, intelligence failures and funding disparities could undermine the effectiveness of state policing if adequate safeguards are not established.
The forum concluded with a strong call for constitutional amendments to create a decentralised policing system capable of responding more effectively to Nigeria’s evolving security threats.
