By Gloria Ikibah
Governor of Niger State, Farmer Umar Bago, has backed the establishment of state police, as he said the growing insecurity across Nigeria requires a policing system that is closer to communities and able to respond to local security challenges.
Bago stated this on Tuesday in Abuja at the second Annual Distinguished Parliamentarian Lecture and Award Series organised by the House of Representatives Press Corps.
The event, themed “The Imperative of State Police: Securing Communities, Strengthening Federalism,” brought together lawmakers, security officials, journalists and other stakeholders to examine the proposed decentralisation of policing in Nigeria. The constitutional amendment Bill seeking to establish State Police Services is currently before the 36 State Houses of Assembly for consideration.
Represented by the Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in the North-Central, Muazu Rijau, Bago said the increasing rate of crime and insecurity had demonstrated the need for a more responsive security architecture.
He said: “When we look at the rate of crime and insecurity in Nigeria, it becomes clear that there is a need for a more effective security architecture that can respond to the peculiar challenges of our communities”.
He said Niger State supported the emergence of state police, emphasising that security challenges occurred within communities and cities and therefore required a policing system with local knowledge.
“We in Niger State and across Africa would love to see State Police become a reality in Nigeria.
“Everything happens in our communities and cities. This is why we believe there is a need to bring policing closer to the people”, he said.
He said any new policing structure must be backed by effective oversight and accountability, as well as adequate funding, training, welfare and professional standards.
The Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who represented Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, said Parliament and the media had complementary roles in strengthening democracy.
Rotimi urged journalists to scrutinise legislation based on evidence, its provisions and likely consequences rather than partisan considerations.
“A healthy democracy requires a Parliament that can explain and defend its decisions, and a press that can question us without fear or favour.
“To love one’s country is not to suspend one’s capacity for critical thought. Genuine patriotism requires the courage to ask whether a policy works, whether a law is fit for purpose and whether public resources are being deployed in the national interest”, he said.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, represented at the event by DCP Suleiman Gulma, welcomed the debate, as he said security remained the foundation for socio-economic stability.
He said the Nigeria Police Force supported constitutional and legislative efforts to strengthen law enforcement, improve community safety and promote accountable, citizen-centred policing.
Former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, said the debate was bigger than policing, describing it as a question of federalism, governance and constitutional responsibility.
Elumelu said the debate was bigger than policing, describing it as a question of federalism, governance and constitutional responsibility.
He called for strong oversight, adequate funding, training, welfare and professional standards for personnel under any new policing arrangement.
Similarly, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, FCT Council, Comrade Grace Ike, backed a carefully designed state policing system, saying local forces could respond more quickly to threats because of their familiarity with the communities they serve.
She, however, called for constitutional clarity, professional standards, independent oversight, sustainable funding, intelligence sharing and respect for human rights.
“State police, if conceived and implemented with constitutional rigour, strong oversight, adequate resourcing, and respect for human rights, can be a meaningful instrument for securing communities and deepening our federal democracy”, she said.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Press Corps, Comrade Gboyega Onadiran, said the debate on state police was no longer theoretical, noting that the 36 State Houses of Assembly were considering the proposal.
He said parliamentary journalists had witnessed growing pressure from constituents over terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts and ungoverned spaces.
“The question of state police is no longer a theoretical debate. It is a lived reality for millions of Nigerians who continue to ask why the security of their communities should be managed from a centre so far removed from them”, he said.
Onadiran, however, cautioned against allowing state police to be controlled by governors without adequate safeguards.
He called for effective oversight, sustainable funding and institutional protections to ensure professionalism and independence.
The lecture formed part of the House of Representatives Press Corps’ efforts to promote public discourse on critical national issues and provide a platform for stakeholders to examine major policy and governance questions confronting the country.
The debate comes as the proposed State Police Services amendment is being considered by state Houses of Assembly, with funding, recruitment, training, operational independence, accountability, oversight and safeguards against abuse among the issues under discussion.
