The establishment of State police alone will not resolve Nigeria’s insecurity without improved governance and social development, a university don has warned. Professor Etannibi Alemika of the University of Jos gave this warning while delivering a lecture at NILDS-UNIBEN’s 10th convocation on Monday in Abuja. Alemika in his lecture entitled, “State Police in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Prospects”, said insecurity extended beyond physical harm and property losses. He said unemployment, poverty, inequality, inadequate healthcare, poor education and environmental degradation also threatened human security. Said Alemika: “The solution to Nigeria’s insecurity lies not simply in State police or Federal police, but in good governance”. He cautioned that introducing State-controlled police without adequate safeguards could worsen insecurity, particularly where Governors wield considerable influence over State institutions. The Professor of Criminology distinguished policing from the police, explaining that families, schools, religious organisations, communities, vigilantes and government agencies also performed policing functions across Nigeria. He described Nigeria’s existing arrangements as plural policing and advocated for better coordination among security providers rather than focusing exclusively on establishing additional police forces. Alemika cited international examples, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Scotland, Norway and Denmark, where authorities had consolidated police structures to strengthen coordination and improve administration. He said Nigeria should examine international experiences carefully, adding that decentralisation did not automatically guarantee improved security outcomes. The lecturer also questioned the effectiveness of constitutional safeguards against political interference, citing concerns about Governors’ influence over legislatures, judiciaries and State electoral commissions. He urged the National Assembly to ensure meaningful public participation in the constitutional amendment process, warning that rushing the State police proposal could have far-reaching consequences for future generations. Added he: “A nation has thousands of years ahead of it. We should not rush into decisions that could have far-reaching consequences”. He, thereafter, recommended Federal support for police training infrastructure, alternative policing arrangements for States unwilling to establish separate forces and broader reforms encompassing all security providers. He argued that Nigeria needed policing reform rather than mere police reform, adding that effective security required addressing governance failures and coordinating formal and informal security actors. Responding, Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, disagreed with Alemika’s assertion that public hearings were not held before passing the State police bill. Represented by the Deputy Senate president, Barau Jibrin, Akpabio said hearings were conducted in Abuja and across six geopolitical zones, stressing that Nigerians made contributions to the bill. He explained that the proposed State police would complement rather than replace Federal policing. Said Akpabio: “The Federal police will remain intact. The objective is to complement the work of the existing police force”. He added that State police would operate under regulatory safeguards and Federal oversight, with defined limits on weapons and powers,