All 36 states have submitted their positions on state police, with a majority agreeing on the need for state-controlled policing.
The Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, revealed this to State House Correspondents on Thursday after the 147th meeting of the National Economic Council at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
He said, “Today, one of the discussions we had at the NEC meeting was the update on the creation of state police. As you are aware, there was a submission by states towards the establishment of state police.
“Thirty-six states have submitted, minus the FCT. The FCT is not a state; they explained why they have not submitted it. But 36 states have all submitted their own positions on state police.
“From what is available, virtually most of the states are in agreement with the establishment of state police in Nigeria. I want to say here clearly that most of us are in agreement with the establishment of state police.”
Sani explained that the consensus stemmed from various security challenges across states.
He highlighted the central issue of ungoverned spaces in Nigeria and the acute shortage of security personnel, including the police, army and other relevant agencies, which are unable to cover all areas adequately.
“That is why most of us agreed that the establishment of state police in Nigeria is the way forward towards addressing the problem of insecurity in our own country,” he stated.
However, the council deferred final discussions until January, when a detailed report from the NEC secretariat will be presented for deliberation.
“But today, the council decided to step down the discussion until the next council meeting because we need to come up with a report from the secretariat. And after the report, there will be deliberation at the next NEC meeting, which will likely take place in January.
“Not only that; there was also a resolution in the last NEC meeting, which today the secretariat agreed on, stating that there will be further stakeholder engagement after the panel and deliberation by the members of the NEC.”
At its 146th meeting on November 21, the council gave Adamawa, Kebbi and Kwara states and the FCT one week (November 28) to submit their positions on the proposed creation of state police.
“The council mandated these remaining states and FCT to make their submissions within the next one week,” the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr Duoye Diri, told State House Correspondents.
Diri said the three states and the nation’s capital were the only entities yet to submit reports out of the 36 states.
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 the last NEC meeting, the implementation of state police remained only in the planning stages as the Federal Government and state authorities continued to debate on the constitutional amendments required to empower states to establish and manage their police forces.
Asked why the process has been slow-paced in the past nine months, the Bayelsa Governor argued that the council was determined to hasten the process and get its members to submit their reports by November 28.
“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 give 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.”
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 firm political control, potentially exacerbating regional tensions and undermining national unity.