Senator Ned Nwoko’s Private Security Bill: A Timely Lifeline for Nigeria’s Overstretched Forces

In the face of escalating insecurity that has claimed thousands of lives in 2025 alone, Nigeria’s National Assembly is grappling with a bold legislative proposal that could reshape the nation’s security landscape.

Sponsored by Senator Prince Ned Munir Nwoko, representing Delta North Senatorial District, the bill—formally titled “A Bill for an Act to Make Provision for the Registration and Grant of Licence for the Use of Private Security Companies in Nigeria, to Complement the Activities of the Military in the Defence of the Nation’s Territory and for Other Related Purposes“—seeks to formalize and regulate the role of private security firms.

Introduced and read for the first time in the Senate just days ago on December 8, 2025, this legislation arrives at a critical juncture, offering a structured pathway to alleviate the crippling burden on Nigeria’s public security apparatus.

Nigeria’s security forces are in a state of perpetual strain, a reality underscored by the country’s explosive population growth and multifaceted threats.

With over 220 million citizens—the largest population in Africa—the Nigeria Police Force, numbering around 370,000 officers, and the Nigerian Army, with approximately 400,000 personnel, are woefully under-resourced to cover the vast terrain.

From January to September 2025, the nation recorded at least 12,000 attacks on civilians, including rampant kidnappings by bandits in the northwest, jihadist incursions by Boko Haram in the northeast, separatist violence in the southeast, and deadly herder-farmer clashes in the north-central belt.

Over the first half of the year, insurgents and criminals killed more than 2,266 people, surpassing the entire previous year’s toll, while security personnel suffered heavy losses—over 420 officers from police, military, and paramilitary units fell in the line of duty in the first eight months alone.

As former Army Chief Tukur Buratai recently noted, the armed forces are “overstretched beyond their constitutional role” due to weak policing and inadequate intelligence, forcing soldiers to handle routine law enforcement tasks they were never trained for.

This overextension has been exacerbated by a landmark federal policy announced in November 2025 and forcefully reiterated by President Bola Tinubu on December 10, 2025: the immediate withdrawal of police officers attached to Very Important Persons (VIPs), Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs), and ministers.

Describing the move as “non-negotiable,” Tinubu directed the National Security Adviser, the Minister of Police Affairs, and the Inspector General of Police to enforce compliance, emphasizing that police must refocus on protecting vulnerable citizens rather than elite escorts.

To fill the void, the Ministry of Interior is tasked with deploying Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel for VIP duties, but this shift alone cannot address the broader resource crunch.

With planned police recruitment for 2025 totaling just 50,000 officers—far short of the 190,000 recommended by the Inspector General—the policy risks leaving gaps in everyday security unless supplemented by innovative measures.

Enter Senator Nwoko’s bill, which proposes the establishment of the Nigerian Private Security Registration Council—a federal body to oversee the licensing, registration, and regulation of private security companies (PSCs).

At its core, the legislation aims to harness the burgeoning private security sector, which has grown unchecked amid rising threats, by imposing standards for training, equipment, and operations.

PSCs would be authorized to handle non-lethal, routine tasks such as property protection, guard duties, and basic event security, explicitly barred from high-risk military-style engagements.

Offenses under the Act would fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, ensuring accountability and deterring rogue operators.

If enacted as the Private Security Registration Act, 2025, it would create a professional, nationwide framework for what Nwoko describes as a “fast-growing” industry poised to “support the armed forces and improve citizen safety.”

 The bill’s handiness in the current crisis cannot be overstated. The VIP police withdrawal, while a necessary recalibration, amplifies the urgency for alternative security layers.

By offloading basic guard duties to licensed PSCs, the measure would free up thousands of police officers for frontline community policing and crime prevention—tasks where the force is most needed amid a kidnapping epidemic that has federal forces “overstretched and often unable to respond promptly.”

Similarly, it would allow the military to rededicate resources to its constitutional mandate: border defense against external threats and combating major insurgencies, rather than being bogged down in internal policing.

In essence, this is Nigeria’s official blueprint for building a large-scale, regulated backup force—a “complement” to public institutions that could scale with the population without straining budgets or recruitment pipelines.

Critics might worry about privatization risks, such as uneven quality or elite capture, but the bill’s emphasis on rigorous licensing and oversight addresses these head-on, drawing lessons from global models like the UK’s Security Industry Authority.

Nwoko, a seasoned legislator with a track record of 34 sponsored bills since 2023—including the Self-Defense and Firearm Ownership Regulation Act—has framed this as a pragmatic response to “evolving security challenges.”

With the Senate already receiving the bill amid a declared national security emergency, now is the moment for swift action.

Passing Senator Nwoko’s Private Security Bill without delay would not only plug immediate gaps from the VIP redeployment but also fortify Nigeria’s resilience against a tide of threats.

It’s a strategic pivot from reaction to regulation, ensuring that every citizen—from rural farmers to urban dwellers—benefits from a security ecosystem that finally matches the scale of the challenge.

The National Assembly must prioritize this legislation; the lives it could safeguard depend on it.

Pamela O. writes from Lagos.