September 07, (THEWILL) — That the creation of state police in Nigeria is long overdue can be gleaned from ugly stories about the worsening insecurity in the country, particularly in the North, last week. Two state governors led delegations to the Presidential Villa to beg President Bola Tinubu for more attention on the insecurity in their states. A particular governor claimed he could you end banditry in his state in three weeks if the federal authorities let him and a strong group urged the government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity in Northern Nigeria.
Chairman of the North-East Governors Forum, Babagana Zulum, led a delegation of the six governors in the zone, including Governors Usman Fintiri of Adamawa State, Mai Bala Buni of Yobe State, Agbu Kefas of Taraba and Mohammmed Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State to the Villa last week and, among other things, they requested increased commitment to the government’s initiative on the training of manpower and provision of technology, with a view to reversing the insecurity facing the North-East.
Addressing the Katsina Governor Radda-led delegation from Katsina State in the same week, President Tinubu hinted at his commitment to the founding of State police, even as he pledged to empower the recently inaugurated National Forest Guards, whose creation received presidential approval on May 15, 2025 but as at press time was still undergoing proper coordination!
The President, who said he had instructed that he be given daily updates on security operations in Katsina, added that he was reviewing all the aspects of security, saying “I have to create state police. We are looking at that holistically,”
The President reminded the delegation that in February 2024, the Federal Government formed a committee to study the framework for state policing, which has since gained wide support.” So, what is holding the authorities back if the state police have gained wide support?
Under the programme, each state is expected to recruit between 2,000 and 5,000 forest guards depending on its capacity.
1,129 forest reserves along with 8 national parks, 4 wildlife sanctuaries and 29 game reserves are to be covered in this programme.
Already, 11 states have reportedly established some form of forest guards, but they are yet to standardise them to meet national security aims because of the problem of logistics, training and wholesome wage.
How would one explain the spiking in insecurity in Katsina, Kogi, Benue, Borno, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Taraba, Niger and Zamfara states, even the FCT, where most of the forests have been providing cover for bandits, kidnappers and other criminals.
Alarmed at the worsening state of insecurity, the Northern Elders Forum last week called on the President to declare a state of emergency in northern Nigeria, because of “the extraordinary scale of the crisis,” according to Prof. Abubakar Jiddere, spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum. According to him, “the spate of violent attacks, abductions and killings across the region, could endanger Nigeria’s stability and regional peace if urgent action was not taken.
More indicting of the attitude towards eradicating banditry and terrorism in the country was the mocking statement by Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara state on Thursday.
Reacting to a recent incident in Shinkafi Local Government Area of the state where dozens were killed, the governor said the authorities in Abuja were constituting a hindrance to tackling insecurity in the state, a claim many state governors can relate to. Lawal claimed that security forces on the ground failed to act because they were awaiting authorisation from Abuja.
“I can tell you the whereabouts of every bandit kingpin in Zamfara, even with my phone. I can point to you where they are right now. But I do not control security agencies, and that is the problem,” Lawal said pointedly.
At its August meeting, the National Economic Council, NEC, the states yet to submit their reports on state police, namely Kwara, Sokoto, Kebbi and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, were given a September 9, 2025 deadline to comply. In fact, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State told State House Correspondents that there was widespread agreement among state governments on the matter.
He said, “Most of us agreed that the establishment of state police is the way forward.”
Considering these positions and against the background of the recent orgy of violence and bloodletting in Benue and Plateau States, we reiterate our earlier call on the government to allow states to create state police.
All we urge for is the need to institute open, actionable legal and constitutional safeguards against abuse by, mostly governors, and the protection of the rights of citizens within every state. It is high time we stopped acting as if human lives do not matter in Nigeria.
