President Bola Tinubu has renewed the push for state police, urging lawmakers to begin the legal reforms required to allow states that desire it to establish their own police forces.
His position, contained in a personally signed statement on Wednesday, November 26, followed his declaration of a nationwide security emergency.
“I call on the National Assembly to begin reviewing our laws to allow states that require state police to establish them,” Tinubu said, describing decentralised policing as essential to confronting the worsening security situation.
The President tied the call to a wider security overhaul that includes new recruitment drives, redeployment of officers from VIP duties, and the immediate deployment of trained forest guards.
“Today, in view of the emerging security situation, I have decided to declare a nationwide security emergency and order additional recruitment into the Armed Forces,” he stated, noting that the police would take in 20,000 more officers and train them in NYSC camps.
Tinubu further explained that localised policing would improve intelligence gathering and strengthen protection for schools, places of worship, border communities, and critical infrastructure.
He added, “States should rethink establishing boarding schools in remote areas without adequate security. Mosques and churches should constantly seek police and other security protection when they gather for prayers, especially in vulnerable areas.”
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His latest intervention comes at a time when governors across the country have intensified calls for state-controlled policing.
First Daily had reported that Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, who chaired a meeting of the Southern Governors’ Forum, today, declared that state police was now an unavoidable reform.
Abiodun said the recent violent attacks had shown that “the creation of state police remains a non-negotiable component of our collective demand for true federalism and effective grassroots security.”
He warned that no part of the country was insulated from kidnapping or terrorism, insisting that devolved policing would enable states to respond faster to evolving threats.
Tinubu acknowledged this growing national consensus, saying the Federal Government would work with state-led security outfits.
“Our administration will support state governments which have set up security outfits to safeguard their people from the terrorists bent on disrupting our national peace,” he said.
With insecurity escalating across several regions, the President’s stance signals a major shift toward decentralised security architecture, reflecting pressure from state governments, lawmakers, and civil society groups who argue that centralised policing can no longer meet Nigeria’s complex security needs.