Govs back state police as NEC defers decision to January
Governors of the 36 states have agreed to establish state police to tackle the prevailing insecurity in the country. This was part of the resolutions of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday. State police is one of the initiatives government has […]
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Governors of the 36 states have agreed to establish state police to tackle the prevailing insecurity in the country.
This was part of the resolutions of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday.
State police is one of the initiatives government has proposed to employ in the bid to address the country’s persistent insecurity challenges.
At the last NEC meeting in November, three states-Adamawa, Kebbi, and Kwara-along with the Federal Capital Territory, were yet to submit their reports.
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Governor Sani confirmed that the states’ reports are in, with all states except the FCT having completed their submissions.
Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani said, “One of the discussions we had at the NEC meeting was the update on the creation of state police. As you are aware, there was a submission by states towards the establishment of state police.”
However, the governor also disclosed that the NEC secretariat has committed to engaging stakeholders further before the council’s January meeting, where a comprehensive report will be presented.
Governor Sani noted that the discussions at the meeting were centered on updates regarding submissions by states towards the creation of state police.
He emphasised that many states agreed on the need for state-controlled police forces due to the unique security challenges faced by individual regions and the glaring inadequacies in the current national security framework.
He further explained that the council decided to defer final deliberations on the matter until its next meeting, likely to be held in January.
The delay, he explained, is to allow the NEC secretariat to compile and present a comprehensive report based on the submissions received.
Additionally, further stakeholder engagements are planned to refine the proposals before a final decision is made.
The push for state police has gained momentum in recent months as states grapple with insecurity, exacerbated by vast ungoverned spaces and insufficient personnel in existing security agencies.
Governor Sani highlighted these challenges, stating that a decentralised policing system would enable states to tailor security measures to their specific needs, thereby enhancing the overall safety of citizens.
“Today, about 36 states have already made their submission for establishing state police in Nigeria and I can say here that from what is available, virtually most of the states are in agreement with the establishment of state police in Nigeria.
“But today, the council decided to step down the discussion until the next council meeting, because we need to come up with a report from the secretariat and after the report, there will be deliberation at the next NEC meeting that is likely taking place in January.
“Not only that, there’s also a resolution in the last NEC meeting, which today the Secretariat have also agreed on that there will be further stakeholder engagement after the panel and deliberation by the members of the NEC.
“So all we are saying here is that 36 states have made their own submission, and many states are in agreement for the establishment of state police, considering the fact that virtually every state has their peculiarity in terms of the problem we are having of insecurity in our own states.
“Knowing fully well that we have a lot of ungoverned space in Nigeria, and also that we have a lot of deficit in terms of number of boots on ground, looking at the fact that a lot of security agencies, the police, the army and other relevant security agencies have no personnel to cover all the ungoverned space, that is the reason why most of us agreed that establishment of state police in Nigeria is the way forward toward addressing the problem of insecurity in our own country,” Sani said.