Seventeen months after President Bola Tinubu first hinted at creating state police, prominent socio-political groups across the country have renewed demands for its immediate implementation, warning that further delays could worsen Nigeria’s spiralling insecurity.

The calls was intensified earlier this week when President Bola Tinubu met with Katsina State leaders, where he reaffirmed his commitment to devolve power to the states and equipping local security outfits.

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, welcomed the move but urged Tinubu to act swiftly before the end of 2025. “The idea of state police has been on the front burner for years. It is long overdue,” Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, told reporters in Ibadan.

Similarly, the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) insisted that Nigeria’s worsening security challenges could only be tackled through decentralised policing. “We already have vigilantes working with governors and traditional rulers. What remains is the legal backing,” PANDEF spokesman Dr. Obiuwevbi Ominimini said.

Contributing to the agitation, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) and Northern Youth Groups also echoed the demand, stressing that insecurity in rural areas cannot be contained by the overstretched federal police. MBF President, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, noted that Nigeria once operated a two-tier policing system before it was scrapped by the military, lamenting that the current centralised model is ineffective.

However, not all groups are convinced. The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) argued that state policing would not solve insecurity challenges without addressing underlying economic hardship. Meanwhile, the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) described the proposal as a “misplaced priority,” warning that governors could abuse such powers.

Despite broad consensus amongst state governors and security experts, deliberations at the National Economic Council have repeatedly been deferred, with a final decision now expected in January 2026.

Responding to mounting criticism, Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, insisted that state police remains a priority for the Tinubu administration but requires constitutional amendments and “serious consultation” to avoid political misuse.

With Nigeria recording over 2,200 violent deaths in the first half of 2025, double last year’s figure, analysts say the pressure on the Federal Government to act decisively has never been greater.

 

 

 

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