FG, Govs Decide On State Police Next Week

The Federal Government and the state governors will next week take decisions on the creation of state police.

The Governor of Bayelsa State, Duoye Diri, disclosed this to State House correspondents in Abuja on Thursday after the National Economic Council.

Diri revealed that the NEC gave Adamawa, Kebbi, and Kwara states and the FCT one week (November 28) to submit their positions on the proposed creation of state police.

He said by the time the NEC convened again next week, a decision would be taken.

“On the issue of state police today, when the decision was taken, even before it was, the three states in question—one of them (Adamawa) was represented by the Deputy Governor—had earlier made submissions that they presented their report.

“So, that was why NEC could not come out immediately to say ‘A or B,’ but rather gave a timeline. And that timeline, as you can see, was very short: one week for them to go and do whatever they are doing so that decisions will be made by the next NEC meeting. And, from how they reacted, I’m sure that maybe we have some bureaucracy regarding the submission,” Diri said.

On the one-week deadline given to the three defaulting states, he said, “The Council mandated these remaining states and the FCT to make their submissions within the next one week.

“On the state police, Council was updated with the submission of the establishment of state police, and it was reported that 33 states have submitted their positions, while three states are yet to do so.

“These three states are Adamawa, Kebbi, and incidentally, Kwara, which is the chairman of our forum, and the FCT are yet to submit their positions.

“The Council mandated these remaining states and the FCT to make their submissions within the next one week and resolved to present a consolidated state’s position on the state police to the National Economic Council at our next meeting.”

On February 15, 2024, the Federal Government, alongside the 36 states, began talks expected to culminate in the creation of state police.

This formed part of agreements reached at an emergency meeting between President Bola Tinubu and state governors at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

It followed the pockets of insecurity recorded nationwide, hikes in food prices and economic hardship.

Addressing State House correspondents afterwards, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, explained that the process was still in its infancy and would only take shape after more deliberations between stakeholders.

“The Federal Government and the state governments are mulling the possibility of setting up state police,” said Idris, adding that “this is still going to be further discussed.”

He explained, “A lot of work must be done in that direction. But if our government and the state governments agree to the necessity of having state police, this is a significant shift.”

Two days earlier, the House of Representatives said it was considering a legislative bill titled, ‘A bill for an Act to alter the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for the establishment of State Police and related matters.’

Following this agreement, the National Economic Council requested each state to submit detailed reports outlining their positions and plans for implementing state police. By March 2024, 16 states had submitted their reports, with the remaining 20 expected to do so by May.

In April 2024, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum announced that the decisions of the remaining 20 governors were ready for submission to the NEC, indicating a unified commitment among the states to establish state police forces.

Despite these, as of November 2024, the implementation of state police remains only in the planning stages as the FG and state authorities continue to debate on the constitutional amendments required to empower states to establish and manage their police forces.

The debate for creating state police in Nigeria primarily stems from the centralised nature of the Nigerian Police Force, which many security pundits perceive as inadequate for addressing the unique security challenges across the country’s diverse regions.

Proponents argue that the outfit would bring law enforcement closer to the communities they serve, enhance the effectiveness of policing, and allow for more localised control over security matters.

However, opponents fear that state police could lead to the abuse of power, particularly in states with strong political control, potentially exacerbating regional tensions and undermining national unity.