Include traditional rulers in state police structure — Olofin

By Lawrence Agbo

The Olofin of Isheri, Oba Sulaiman Bamgbade, has called for traditional rulers to be formally integrated into Nigeria’s proposed state police framework, arguing that monarchs can play a crucial role in intelligence gathering and community security.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, the monarch said traditional institutions are often the first to receive information about suspicious activities but lack a direct security structure through which such intelligence can be acted upon promptly.

Oba Bamgbade also dismissed allegations that some traditional rulers collaborate with terrorists or bandits, insisting that no monarch would deliberately expose his community to violent attacks.

“No traditional ruler would want his town or community raided by terrorists or bandits,” he said, adding that such accusations often arise because security agencies are not always readily available to receive intelligence from local communities.

He maintained that incorporating traditional rulers into the state police architecture would improve communication between communities and security agencies.

According to him, once a traditional ruler receives credible information, it should be possible to relay it immediately through local authorities to security personnel for swift action.

“And that is why we are saying that if these traditional rulers are presented and are part of this security architecture, once this traditional ruler gets information, he passes it to the chairman.

“The chairman has an express way to giving it to those involved and those that should operate on it,” the monarch said.

The monarch said the creation of state police is long overdue, stressing that decentralised policing would strengthen security, particularly in rural communities that have continued to suffer attacks by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers.

His remarks come as the debate over state policing gains momentum nationwide. While the Senate has approved the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill and President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated a Presidential Working Group to develop its implementation framework, the House of Representatives has withdrawn its own proposal in favour of considering the Executive’s version of the bill.