State Police, Mission Schools Return Will Work With Proper Laws, Partnership – Ndagoso

Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna and chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Most Rev Matthew Man-oso Ndagoso, has endorsed the proposed establishment of state police.
He said the fear of abuse should not prevent Nigeria from adopting a policing system that works in other parts of the world.

During the 2026 Priest Day celebration in Kaduna, Ndagoso said local communities were best placed to secure themselves because “every crime is committed in a specific locality.”

The archbishop, who has been a vocal advocate for state police, said governors, as custodians of law at the state level, could effectively command the proposed security outfit if guided by proper laws and consequences.

“The case for state police is very simple: every crime committed anywhere in the world is committed in a particular place, in a locality.

“The hope with state police is that most of the police in each state, in each locality, will be people who know the terrain, who know their backyard and therefore will be able to police it very well,” the cleric said.
He acknowledged that abuse is possible in any system, but argued that refusing to act out of fear of abuse will lead to stagnation.

“Even the present federal policing system has abuses. Certainly, there are abuses. So everything can be abused. To be immobilised by the fear of abuse is not a progressive way of living,” he stated.

The cleric said Nigeria’s major challenge is the absence of consequences for lawbreakers, stressing that proper regulations will curb abuses in the state police system.

“Our biggest problem in this country is that when people break laws, there are no consequences. If there are consequences, a lot of the abuses that we see in our institutions will be curbed,” he added.

He further noted that security should be handled by local leaders at the village, district and local government levels who “know the terrain very well” and can provide timely information and protection.

On the contentious issue of returning mission schools to their original owners, the Archbishop said the Catholic Church is ready to manage the schools through a partnership model with the government.

He explained that the schools originally belonged to the Church and were effectively run in collaboration with government before they were taken over.

“Everywhere in the world, the church works in partnership. We do not work in isolation,” he said.

Citing Anambra and Lagos states as successful examples, he said the model involves government paying teachers and providing grants while the Church handles management.

“In Anambra, the schools were not only returned, but there is also partnership with government. The government provides grants, the government pays the teachers. The church provides the management,” he explained.

The Archbishop said the Church is not asking for a wholesale handover without structure, but for dialogue that will produce a workable agreement.

“It is not just a question of ‘okay, take back the schools.’ No. That is not what we mean. We mean partnership. Using our experience and our knowledge in this field, the church will be able to run them,” he said.

He expressed hope that state governments will engage the Church in discussions to restore the schools to their former standard.