As Tinubu Rekindles Hope for State Police

With President Bola Tinubu’s renewal of his commitment to constitutional amendments for the creation of state police, Nigeria may finally be edging closer to finding solution to the worsening insecurity, Davidson Iriekpen writes 

The various interfaith breakfast meetings President Bola Tinubu held recently with state governors, senior officials and members of the National Assembly at the Presidential Villa in Abuja centred on the need to establish state police.

 At the meetings, which started with the governors, Tinubu pledged that his administration would establish state police as part of renewed efforts to confront the country’s escalating security challenges. 

“We will establish state police to curb insecurity,” he said, adding that stronger security structures were essential for peace, economic growth and community stability.

To demonstrate his seriousness, Tinubu equally met with the leadership and members of the National Assembly, where he appealed to them to initiate constitutional amendments that would create a legal framework for the establishment of state police in view of Nigeria’s evolving security threats, stressing that a decentralised policing system would strengthen grassroots security and enable states to respond more swiftly to local challenges.

“We are facing terrorism, banditry and insurgency. But we will never fail to make the right response to these challenges,” the President said. 

“What I will ask for tonight is for you (Senators) to start thinking about how best to amend the Constitution to incorporate state police for us to secure our country, take over our forests from marauders and free our children from fear.”

Since he assumed office in 2023, Tinubu has been insisting on the creation of state police to curb the security challenges confronting the country.

For over a decade, Nigeria has struggled with terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other forms of criminality.

The unending state of insecurity has eroded public confidence in the nation’s current federal security structure, prompting stakeholders to call for the establishment of state police.

The primary responsibility of the government is to protect lives and property. However, successive governments in Nigeria have failed in this regard as killings and kidnappings by terrorists have become the order of the day in some parts of the country, leading to the clamour for the establishment of state police.

With the recent rise in insecurity in all parts of the country, agitations for the decentralisation of the Nigeria Police Force have remained persistent.

Proponents of state police have argued that the present centralised policing system cannot will not address the mounting insecurity challenges in the Nigerian federation. 

They argued that for effective policing, police officers and men must be familiar with their environment, and understand the language and culture of the people.

They equally posited that the current policy of moving police personnel to unfamiliar environments across ethnic, linguistic, and religious boundaries has become counterproductive.

However, those who are averse to the idea of state police, have raised concerns about the likelihood of abuse by overbearing governors who act like emperors in the states. 

Opposing the creation of state police, the likes of the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun argued that the Nigeria Police Force should be strengthened and properly funded. Security analysts believe successive administrations have done a lot in terms of instituting reforms and increasing budgetary allocations to the police but corruption and mismanagement have not allowed these efforts to enhance professionalism and competence of the force.

While the police have largely failed to provide internal security, forcing the military and other agencies to usurp their functions, the various leaderships, including the past IGs of the police also continued to oppose the creation of state police.

In fact, many believe Egbetokun’s opposition to the creation of state police was part of the reasons he was asked to resign.

It is heartwarming that the new IG, Tunji Disu, has thrown his weight behind the creation of state police.

Last Wednesday, he inaugurated a seven-man committee, which will be led by Professor Olu Ogunsakin, a professor of Police Studies, to propose an operational framework for the establishment and coordination of state police structures.

“State police have come to stay. From the angle of the Nigerian police, we don’t want it to seem as if others are making decisions, and we, the most important people concerned, didn’t do anything. We want to ensure that the best thing is done. The police should be able to contribute and do their own part in making it succeed. The police are not afraid. Our jobs are not being taken; it’s just an issue of partnership,” Disu told journalists shortly after the inauguration of the seven-man steering committee.

However, while the training of the personnel of the state police by the officers and men of the Nigeria Police will be welcomed, the federal government must not allow state police to be under the control or supervision of the federal police otherwise they become part and parcel of the federal police which will negate the spirit behind their creation.

The clamour for state police gained momentum in January 2025 after the 36 state governors endorsed its establishment.

The 19 northern states under the aegis of the Northern Governors’ Forum, and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council equally called for the establishment of state police.

Since every crime is localised, it is generally believed that the establishment of state police will curb insecurity, if well managed and adequately equipped. Being closer to the grassroots, personnel of the state police have the advantage of knowing the terrain and the people as well.

In advanced democracies, the state police system is the standard. Nigeria’s democracy is modelled after that of the United States, yet in practice, the country’s system lacks the fine points of that bastion of democracy.

The cause of this anomaly is Section 214 of the Nigerian Constitution, which stipulates that there can only be one Nigeria Police Force at the federal level. Under the current system, the Inspector General of Police is accountable only to the President and Commander-in-Chief.

Analysts argued that the current structure provided in the 1999 Constitution, is faulty and against the tenets of a federal system of government.

With the recent incidents, a centralised police force for a country with a population of over 200 million spread over 36 states, a federal capital territory, and 774 local government areas, cannot effectively tackle crimes and other forms of insecurity.

Security experts and other stakeholders believe that if the governors who are the chief security officers of their states have direct control over the state police, several attacks would be avoidable. Under the current structure, the governors have little or no power over the police as they can be overruled by the higher police authorities in Abuja.

This is why the ongoing effort by President Tinubu is a right step in the right direction and many are calling on the National Assembly to write their names on the good side of history by responding positively to the rising clamour for state police.