President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Josiah Osigwe, has said Nigeria can no longer rely solely on a centralised policing system, declaring that worsening insecurity has made the establishment of state police an urgent national necessity while stressing the need for constitutional safeguards against abuse by state governors.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Osigwe said the NBA, which had previously opposed state police over fears of political manipulation, had reviewed its position in light of the country’s security realities.

He said, “Historically, there was a deep-seated aversion within the Bar toward creating state police. The overriding fear was that state governors would weaponise local police forces and use them against political opponents.”

“However, given the severe breakdown of security across various parts of the country, most Nigerians now realistically agree that a single, centralised command structure can no longer effectively secure a nation of our size. There is an urgent need for state policing.”

He disclosed that the NBA had been co-opted into the committee working on constitutional amendments for the establishment of state police and would contribute legal and constitutional frameworks to ensure accountability.

“Our role on that working committee is to provide the constitutional and legal frameworks necessary to institutionalise state police while building robust legal safeguards to insulate local forces from political abuse by state executives,” he said.

Osigwe also addressed the controversy surrounding the NBA’s forthcoming presidential election, dismissing a directive circulating on social media and purportedly issued by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation as unofficial.

He said the association had not received any formal communication from the Attorney General and questioned the authenticity of the document.

“I cannot for certain say that the Attorney General of the Federation gave that advice. Frankly, I would be shocked if he did,” he said, adding that the document did not bear the Attorney General’s official letterhead and that he had only seen it on social media.

According to him, some technology experts had suggested the document could even have been generated using artificial intelligence.

Osigwe maintained that even if the directive had originated from the Attorney General, the office had no constitutional authority to interfere with the NBA’s electoral process.

“We are not a department under the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. If there are issues regarding our elections, they must be resolved strictly in accordance with the provisions of the NBA Constitution,” he said.

The NBA president attributed the controversy over the election to lawsuits challenging the association’s zoning arrangement.

He said members of Egbe Amofin O’odua had gone to court seeking to prevent the Electoral Committee from accepting nominations from candidates other than their preferred aspirant, despite the NBA Constitution guaranteeing a democratic contest.

“It is completely undemocratic to insist that only one person should run, more so when it is obvious that multiple individuals are qualified and interested in running,” he said.

Osigwe also alleged that, before the legal actions commenced, a former Attorney General of Oyo State warned him that unless he allowed the emergence of a preferred candidate, the NBA would be plunged into a crisis that would prevent the election from holding.

He said the subsequent lawsuits and court injunctions appeared to be an execution of that threat.

The NBA president, however, expressed confidence that the July 18 presidential election would proceed as scheduled.

“The ECNBA has set July 18 as the official date. Barring any completely unforeseen legal catastrophes, the election will proceed exactly as scheduled,” he said.

He added that only the Electoral Committee or the NBA’s National Executive Council had the constitutional authority to alter the election timetable.

Osigwe also defended the integrity of the NBA’s electronic voting system, explaining that every eligible lawyer is assigned a unique email address and telephone number linked to their Supreme Court enrolment record, with access secured through one-time passwords.

He said constitutional amendments now require the Electoral Committee to provide all candidates with the verified list of accredited voters within six hours after the close of polls, allowing independent verification of the results.

On broader concerns about democracy, Osigwe warned against the increasing use of court injunctions to halt elections and interfere with internal democratic processes, saying such practices undermine the rule of law and threaten the independence of institutions such as the NBA. (Nigerian Tribune)