President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the National Assembly to summon the inspector general of police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun to address delays and concerns surrounding the creation of state police in Nigeria
President Tinubu said lawmakers must examine the implications of establishing state police and put safeguards in place to prevent abuse
Tinubu reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to creating state police, describing it as a necessary step to improve security nationwide
He asked the federal lawmakers to invite the police chief to examine ways to ‘institute controls and prevent abuses, as it was a necessary step in the fight against terrorism and banditry.’
Speaking on Friday night, December 19, at the 15th national executive committee (NEC) meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Tinubu insisted that state police is the way to go.
A statement on Friday, December 19, by Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, obtained by Legit.ng, highlighted Tinubu’s stance.
Onanuga’s statement reads: “President Tinubu said that State Police is the way to go. He called on the National Assembly to summon the Inspector General of Police to examine ways to ‘institute controls and prevent abuses,’ as it was a necessary step in the fight against terrorism and banditry.”
Legit reports that the debate over state police gained national momentum in the mid-2010s as insecurity worsened across different regions, especially with rising kidnapping, banditry, and rural attacks.
Many governors argued that the federal police structure, created in the 1960s, could no longer cope with modern security challenges. Public reaction at the time was mixed.
While many citizens and civil society groups supported the idea as a practical response to growing insecurity, others feared that politicians might misuse state-controlled forces. Despite these concerns, calls for decentralised policing continued to grow as security problems deepened.
