A significant step toward the establishment of state police in Nigeria was taken on Thursday, as the majority of the 36 state governors expressed strong support for the policy during their National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.
The move aims to address the growing insecurity across the country.
However, the meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja was marred by the absence of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, led by Nyesom Wike, who failed to submit its recommendations on the matter.
Despite this setback, there were clear indications that final decisions regarding the creation of state police would be made at the next NEC meeting in January 2025.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani confirmed that all 36 states had submitted their positions on the proposal, with most governors in favor of establishing state police.
He assured that the final decision on the matter would be taken at the next NEC gathering.
At the previous meeting in November, states such as Kwara, Kebbi, and Adamawa had yet to submit their recommendations on state police.
Governor Sani stated, “One of the major discussions at the NEC meeting today was the progress on the creation of state police. As you are aware, states have been submitting recommendations for its establishment. Today, we can confirm that 36 states have now made their submissions, with the overwhelming majority supporting the idea.”
He continued, “However, the council decided to defer further discussion until the next meeting. We need to review the report from the secretariat before engaging in further deliberations, which we expect to take place in January. Additionally, there was a resolution at the previous NEC meeting for further engagement with stakeholders after the panel’s deliberations.”
Sani further explained that the push for state police was fueled by the unique security challenges faced by individual states.
“Each state has its own peculiar issues related to insecurity, and with large ungoverned spaces and insufficient personnel in existing security agencies, the establishment of state police is seen as a necessary step to address these challenges,” he said.
He concluded, “The creation of state police is the way forward to effectively combat insecurity in our country, given the deficit in security personnel and the challenges that our states face in ensuring safety for their citizens.
