There has been a debate on the modality for the management of the Nigerian Police Force since the return to civil rule in  1999. The debate revolves around the need to devolve constitutional authority on policing to sub-national units. In theory, this will entail moving internal security issues, inclusive of policing, from the exclusive federal list to the concurrent list. Given the heighten insecurity that has plagued the Nigerian state in recent times, this paper examines the restructuring discourse in Nigeria with a specific focus on the call for the establishment of state police within the context of the subsidiarity principle. The study was contextualized within the exploratory research design paradigm and it adopted the qualitative approach in the sourcing and analysis of data. To this end, the paper has drawn information from published media reports that include: opinion, commentaries, editorials and news articles. Data was also sourced from published academic and policy publications that include: articles, chapter in books, books and government documents. Drawing on information from these sources, this paper assesses the positions of protagonists and antagonists of state police in Nigeria. It draws out implications for security governance in Nigeria.

Transborder crimes and the operation of criminal syndicates have emerged as major threats to security and efforts to advance integration in West Africa. The proliferation of transborder criminal syndicates and rising criminal activities has made member states take steps to curtail these growing challenges, sometimeswith unintended consequences on the free flow of factors of production as enshrined in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol on Free Movement. Informed by the need to understand the challenges that transborder crimes pose within a specific context, this study examinestransborder criminal activities across the Nigeria-Benin Republic border. The study assesses three forms of criminal activities along the two countries’ borderlands and their implications for the security of the two countries concerned. The qualitative method was adopted, and data for the study was derived frommostly secondary and less primary sources. These criminal activities affect the national security of the two countries and impact efforts to advance integration in the sub-region. The study recommends the implementation of joint border security reforms.