A chieftain of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Buba Galadima, has warned against the establishment of state police, alleging that the proposed security structure could be manipulated for political purposes and ultimately threaten Nigeria’s unity.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE Television on Tuesday morning, Galadima argued that the campaign for state police is not genuinely motivated by the need to address the country’s security challenges.
According to him, existing federal security agencies should be strengthened instead of creating another policing structure.
“Nobody ever conceived the idea of state police to sort out security. If the Nigerian Police and the Nigerian military cannot solve security situations in Nigeria, I wonder how the state police would be able to do that,” he said.
Galadima alleged that both the Federal Government and state governors were pushing for the creation of state police ahead of future elections to gain political advantage.
“All that we know is that the President and the governors are looking for state police before the elections so that they use them as political forces to attack the opposition, disrupt elections and kill democracy,” he stated.
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The former political ally of President Bola Tinubu drew parallels with the defunct Native Authority Police, recalling what he described as its misuse during the First Republic.
“When elections approached, the Native Authority Police would gather opposition elements in their jurisdiction and lock them up on different allegations. That was how the system was abused,” he said.
Galadima further claimed that the activities of the Native Authority Police contributed to the displacement of many people from parts of northern Nigeria.
“Most Hausa people you see across Africa and Nigeria were expelled by the Native Authority Police in states like Kano and Katsina. They had to run for their dear lives,” he alleged.
He also warned that state police could worsen ethnic and religious divisions if recruitment into the force was dominated by particular groups within individual states.
“State police could be used to destroy the unity of this country. It will create more problems, more division and more suspicion than solutions,” he said.
The proposed establishment of state police has continued to generate nationwide debate. While supporters argue that decentralising policing would strengthen community security and improve intelligence gathering, critics have expressed concerns that governors could deploy state-controlled police forces to intimidate political opponents, suppress dissent and undermine democratic processes.