Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has revealed that the committee responsible for developing the proposed framework for state policing in Nigeria examined policing systems in India, the United States and Pakistan before presenting its recommendations.
Disu made the disclosure on Thursday, August 6, during a workshop on state police held in Abuja.
According to a video of the event shared on X, he explained that the gathering was organised to familiarise senior police officers with the proposed state policing structure and address concerns surrounding its implementation.
He described the issue as one of the most significant security debates currently facing the country and stressed the need for officers to understand the proposed system.
He said, “We are going to deliberate on a very important topic of state police. This is a very important topic ravaging the country today and in other parts of the world.
“The most important thing is we are leading hundreds of officers who must be told about state police, who must be educated about state police to alleviate their fears, because there are fears everywhere. It is our duty to educate them and let them know what state police is all about.”
The police chief stated that the Federal Government had already decided to establish state police, adding that the Nigeria Police Force had a responsibility to support the process.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has made up its mind to have state police, and it is our duty to assist them to achieve it. This is not the issue of us only. This is the issue of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the people of Nigeria,” he said.
He encouraged participants at the workshop to critically examine the proposed framework and make constructive contributions that would strengthen it before implementation.
Reflecting on the work of the committee, Disu recalled that there was initial resistance to setting up a police-led committee because some believed the decision on state police had already been settled.
“And I’ll go back to when we were about to start. Argument arose that decisions had been taken and we should just sit down and be complacent and not do anything about it. I’m happy we quickly agreed to set up a committee,” he said.
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According to him, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had already established its own committee and completed its assignment before the police began work on its own proposal.
“The governors have already set up their committee. They have already almost concluded. In fact, they have concluded. We started late. We caught up with them, and I’m happy to say our work is what they are deliberating on today,” he stated.
Disu disclosed that the police committee completed its initial framework in just 17 days.
“I think it took us 17 days only to come up with a framework that has become the genesis of what everybody is working on today, and we still need to put some finishing touches to it,” he said.
He added that former Inspectors-General of Police had also reviewed the document and made valuable contributions.
“Retired Inspectors-General of Police have visited me and they have shown their concern, and we have deliberated. They have put in their contributions into this as well,” he said.
The Inspector-General noted that the committee did not rely solely on local considerations but also studied how state policing works in other countries.
“A lot of comparative analysis has been done. We have taken time to study nations where they have state police, India, America and even Pakistan and how things work there,” he said.
He urged the officers attending the workshop to approach the discussions with seriousness and help refine the framework to ensure it serves Nigeria effectively.
Calls for state police have intensified in recent years as insecurity continues to challenge the country’s existing policing structure, with many stakeholders arguing that decentralised policing could improve local security responses.