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Last year, precisely September 11 2025, I wrote a column titled “State police as a remedy for insecurity” where I enumerated the benefits of State police system. However, it is not unusual for people with negative mindsets to want to work against noble ideas which is what is currently happening to the clamour for state police but I’m elated that President Bola Tinubu firmly aligns with the proponents of the state police idea.
Sequel to the President’s approval of state police, the new Inspector-General of Police, Mr Olatunji Rilwan Disu did not waste time, shortly after his inauguration, in setting up an eight- man state police implementation committee. Members of the Committee are Professor Olu Ogunsakin (chairman) , CP Bode Ojajuni( secretary). Others members include DCP Okebechi Agora, DCP Suleyman Gulma, ACP Ikechukwu Okafor, CSP Tolulope Ipinmisho and retired CP Emmanuel Ojukwu, Provost of the Police Public Relations School.
While addressing the top hierarchy of the force, the IGP Disu gave a glimpse of what is expected when he said: “State Policing is not intended to replace or diminish the Nigeria Police Force, but rather to function as a complementary structure within a coordinated national security framework that strengthens national cohesion and institutional effectiveness”.
According to International Police Definition, state police is a “law enforcement agency operating under the authority of a state or regional government rather than federal or local municipality control” Among the countries presently practicing state police are the United States, India, Germany, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Argentina.
For example, In the United States with 50 states, the state police system is structured in a such a way that each state police body is unique to a given a state. Each state police apparatus has statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and criminal investigations.
Among it’s defined activities includes: Highway patrol, rural policing, emergency response, criminal investigation, inter-jurisdictional crimes, specialized units, intelligence gathering, support for local agencies, private security services, crowd control, training and development.
Supporters of state police argue that had state police been established since 2009 when Boko Haram insurgency started, the issue of insecurity in the North would have been a thing of the past.
Infact, thousands of Nigerians, both civilians and uniformed personnels who have been sent to their early graves by terrorists leaving their wives as widows and children as orphans, would have still been alive today and terrorists’ destruction of properties worth billions of Naira around the country would haven been nipped in the bud.
For those who do not know,state police is simply the decentralization of the the policing system. It is a situation whereby state governments own and control their own police force, operationally, and otherwise. The Holy Book encourages us to always emulate that which is good, so you don’t emulate and bastardize what you want to emulate, instead, you add value to what you want to emulate.
According to an American Author, Napoleon Hill, “watch the one ahead of you, and you’ll learn why he is ahead. Then emulate him.”
The Americans are truly ahead of us when it comes to state police system and we should emulate correctly and not inject ideas that would worsen the system. Some Nigerians are known for bastardizing good ideas and are not ready to emulate them. I’m particularly directing this to state governors who may be warming up to put their state police- when it comes on stream-into negative uses
State police is about the decentralization of the police whereby for example, the governor of Abia state becomes truly the Chief security officer of the state and the state police commissioner would be answerable to him. It’s expected that the constitution would be amended to accommodate the new structural arrangements.
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The fear that the president’s political party may want to use the state police as a tool for political gains should not be entertained. Recall that when the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC,was to be established, many pessimists opposed to the idea, arguing that Wole Soyinka, the originator of the idea and pioneer Corps Marshal was opening more doors of employment for members of the pirate confraternity but that never happened.
Also, when the federal government established the Independent Corrupt practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) many had argued that creating such institutions was not necessary. Today, however, the story has changed as the EFCC and ICPC have performed creditably well in investigation and prosecution of financial criminals.
Truth be told, state police won’t be without hiccups. For instance, if a police officer from Abia state is presently serving in Niger state, would he now be transferred back to Abia state because of his state of origin to form Abia state police? What would be rank structure of the federal and state police? These and other concerns, I believe will be taken care of by constitution amendment.
A thorough study of other countries practicing state police or decentralized policing system needs to be carried out,
after all when the police anti-terrorism squad was to be established by former IGP, Sir Mike Mbama Okiro, many countries were visited for operational understudy.
The establishment of state police, I’m convinced, would remove operational pressure from the present federal police structure. It would also open up employment door for youths of each state while insecurity of all forms would be reduced to the bearers minimum in the states.I firmly believe that state police would be an antidote to insecurity in the country.
Is Tinubu winning the war on insecurity?
10 years ago, the only geopolitical zone that was relatively peaceful was the southwest. Every part of this country was destabilized. In the South south, you had Niger Delta militant groups. Militancy in that region died from 2010 after President Musa Yar’ardua ushered in amnesty program for the militants.However, militancy has since reared its ugly head again. 10 years ago, we had Niger Delta Avengers. They were bombing critical infrastructure in the oil and gas industry. And Nigeria went from 1.9 million barrels in 2014 to less than half of that in 2016. We went from an oil revenue of 68.44 billion to an oil revenue in 2016 of 17 billion. That was in the Niger Delta in the south south. All over the south south the military had to come in. We had something that was called operation crocodile tears. In the southeast you had agitation for sucession. People did not even know what was happening. It was happening because people in the southeast felt that they were shut out of that government. For example, there was nobody of the southeast origin heading any of the 17 security or parliamentary organizations at that time. Youth anger and restiveness in the region was loud and clear: The clamour for secession all over the southeast was as a result of marginalisation of the zone. By 2021, the agitation had birthed the infamous “Monday sit at home”, a form of civil disobedience. The South east violent secession agitation saw about 128 police stations shut down across the region.
Also in the northeast, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee, half of Borno state was under Boko Haram in 2016. In the northwest, Abuja- Kaduna road was a death trap, kidnappers infested. It was the deadliest and most dangerous road on earth. While in southern Kaduna, people experienced genocide, whereby massive killing spree was taking place.
in Kaduna state itself there ware several attacks on the citizens.
in Katsina, where former President Muhammadu Buhari hailed from, it was destabilized, even in Kano there was a situation whereby even a poll had to be cancelled at some point.
By Reno Omokri, Nigeria’s new Ambassador to Mexico
To be continued…
