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President Bola Tinubu on Thursday met with state governors in Abuja during which they considered “the possibility of setting up state police.”
Details of the meeting were disclosed by Information Minister Mohammed Idris who addressed journalists after the meeting.
“Now, there is also a discussion around the issue of state police. The federal government and the state governments are mulling the possibility of setting up state police,” Mr Idris said.
Mr Idris said that attendees at the meeting agreed on the need for state police but more discussions are still needed on how to implement it.
Of course, this is still going to be further discussed. A lot of work has to be done in that direction. Both the federal government and the state governments agree to the necessity of having state police, now this is a significant shift. But like I said, more work needs to be done in that direction.”
The president’s meeting with the governors comes amid a recent surge in insecurity across the country. Various armed groups operate in different parts of the country, exploiting the absence of police and local administration.
On security, Tinubu approved the establishment of a committee comprising state governors and Federal Government representatives to, among other things, explore the modalities for establishing state police.
He stated, “My position at this meeting is that we must move aggressively and establish a committee to look critically at the issues raised, including the possibility of establishing state police.
Before now, the president had mooted the idea of increasing the numerical strength of the police, which is said to be over 300,000. At the end of the Nigeria Police Council conclave, which Mr Tinubu chaired in October last year, he set up a Constitutional Review Committee to carry out comprehensive police reform.
The 2014 National Political Reform Conference had recommended devolving policing after its painstaking deliberations. This implies allowing states to create their police, in addition to enabling community policing.
However, Former President Goodluck Jonathan who initiated the 2014 conference, and his successor, Muhammadu Buhari, did not implement the recommendations of the report despite the security situation.
Mr Idris, the information minister said, “A lot of meetings will have to happen between the federal government and the subnationals to see the modalities of achieving state policing.”
