The Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) has reaffirmed its full support for creating state police as part of efforts to tackle the worsening insecurity in the region and across the country.
The reaffirmation comes after President Ahmed Tinubu renewed his resolve to ensure creation of state police.
Isma’ila Uba Misilli, director-general of press affairs to the chairman of the NSGF and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, disclosed this to LEADERSHIP Friday on Thursday, noting that the governors had already taken a clear position on the matter.
“Regarding state police creation, as far as Northern governors are concerned, they have already made their position known when they met with the traditional leaders in Kaduna’
He said the governors of the 19 Northern states unanimously supported and adopted the creation of the state police to join other forces in curtailing the menace during the meeting.
The governors also called on the National Assembly to fast-track action to provide laws that would enable its establishment.
“They unanimously adopted it and asked the National Assembly to expedite action. So now it’s not within their own mandate, but it is with the National Assembly to provide a law for its establishment.
“The forum is fully in support of the creation of the state police,” Misilli stated.
The position of the Northern governors comes against the backdrop of growing calls from influential groups in the region.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) lamented earlier that the North had been pushed to the wall and must defend itself.
Similarly, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday to declare a state of emergency regarding security in the region.
A day earlier, governors from the six North-East states comprising Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe had met with President Tinubu in Abuja during which they decried the worsening insecurity in some parts of the subregion and called for more decisive action.
By aligning with the push for state policing, the governors’ forum has joined several voices demanding reforms in Nigeria’s security architecture.
Observers say the move highlights the depth of concern among northern leaders as banditry, insurgency, and communal violence continue to disrupt lives and livelihoods across the region.
Three regional socio-cultural organisations in the north and south of Nigeria – the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) , the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) and Afenifere – have urged President Bola Tinubu to expedite action towards decentralising of the Nigeria Police Force.
The apex Northern socio-cultural organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said the creation of state police must pass through all constitutional procedures and must not be used by state governors against opponents.
ACF, however, said it would be a welcome development if the state police would solve the nation’s persistent security challenges.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Friday on the telephone, ACF National Publicity Secretary Prof. T. A. Muhammad-Baba said the forum had yet to take an official position and that all constitutional modalities must be explored. The creation of state police should be within the rule of law.
He said, “The issue of state police has been on for a long time now, but what are the modalities put in place to create state police? What about the funding? Do you see how some states have issues with salary payments to civil servants? How well prepared are states to fund state police when created? What will happen if state police operatives with arms are not paid at the end of the month, like civil servants?”
“Some people have expressed concerns that state police will be used by the governors against political opponents and critics. What assurances are there that it will not be a tool for governors to use against opponents?
“For Mr President to create state police, the process should involve constitutional amendment procedures through the National Assembly,” ACF spokesperson said.
On his part, former Kaduna Senator Shehu Sani said those clamouring for state police should be ready to face the negative fallouts of their wishes.
Sani, who stated his position on his verified Facebook page, wrote, “Those of you wishing and clamouring for the State Police and always opposed to the Federal Police, I wish you well for what you have been wishing for yourselves. When the President finally approves the State Police, you will know the difference between the Federal and the State Police. Enjoy the buffet.”
Governors will use it against opponents – Anthony Sani
Also, the former ACF Secretary General, Anthony Sani, has opposed the creation of state police, stressing that governors will use it against perceived enemies.
Sani, who made his stance known through a telephone interview, said, “To me, state police cannot perform magic unless they are well funded, trained, motivated, and equipped.
“If the state police, when created, are not well trained, funded, motivated, and equipped, they cannot solve the security problems we are facing.”
Establishment Of State Policing Is Long Overdue – MBF
But the national president of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr Bitrus Pogu declared that the forum had long been advocating the establishment of state policing, saying it is long overdue in the country.
Dr Pogu disclosed this while responding to questions posed by our correspondent on the proposed establishment of state police.
According to him, the forum is praying so that the idea will come to fruition, stressing that before Military intervention in the nation’s political space, there were two types of policing: Native Authority (NA) Yan Doka and the Nigerian Police Force (NP), also known as Yan Sanda.
He disclosed that the NA and NP worked side by side, properly policing from the Native Authority up to the national level, noting that the primary responsibility of any government is the protection of the lives and property of its citizens.
“Suddenly, the Military came to truncate the well-established system, and we ended up with just the Nigerian Police,” he said.
“We ended up messing ourselves up by bringing in the military to do the job of policemen. We need to go back to the drawing board to do what is necessary.”
The MBF president expressed his support for the president’s position.
“I believe Mr. President has done the right thing. There is an urgent need for the establishment of state policing, the way we were before, so that state governors can deploy these men to the scene or communities where there are security challenges.”
He further pointed out that some people in this country have used federal police loopholes to circumvent policing and security within the country.
“We are not supposed to have soldiers on our highways doing the job of policemen. That brought us to the sorry situation we find ourselves in today. Middle Belt Forum fully supports the establishment of state policing; it is a welcome development,” Dr Pogu said.
Remove whatever is delaying it – Afenifere
Amid insinuations from different quarters that President Bola Tinubu may be playing to the gallery over the creation of state police, the pan-Yoruba socio-political and cultural organisation, Afenifere, has urged the president to deploy his astute statecraftito remove whatever is delaying the creation of state policing in Nigeria.
Afenifere described the step of the President as “commendable and should be encouraged.”
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Friday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the Afenifere National Publicity Comrade Jare Ajayi, asserted that the President’s declaration on the state police was worth noting and should be encouraged.
Speaking against the backdrop of President Tinubu’s assertion on Tuesday on the issue of state police, the Afenifere spokesman said the statement was reassuring.
It would be recalled that the President had declared: “I am reviewing all the aspects of security; I have to create state police”.
Afenifere said, “ Given the seriousness with which the President spoke about this matter and his consistency on it, we believe strongly that he is very determined to ensure the quick take-off of state police.”
“As is well known, the idea of state police has been on the front burner for quite a while. We recall that President Tinubu has never hidden his desire to have state police. Indeed, going by the posture of Mr. President, one had thought that the scheme would have taken off before now.
“We recall that Minister of Information Mallam Mohammed Idris said that the federal government had set up a committee to see to the setting up of state police.
“In March this year, Vice President Kashim Shettima said that responses from 20 states were being awaited on the issue. We have a feeling that for President Tinubu to again openly describe state police as inevitable now means that the federal government is ready to have it take off.
“To ensure that the present declaration by President Tinubu does not suffer the same fate as the previous ones, Afenifere urges him to ‘use his well-known statecraft dexterity to remove whatever is delaying the creation of state police in Nigeria within this last quarter of the year 2025’.
Ajayi, who asserted that Afenifere had consistently been calling for state police since former President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, described President Tinubu’s seriousness about the issue now as “commendable.”
The national chairman of the Afenifere Executive Committee, Oba Olu Falae, is quoted as saying that state police is long overdue in Nigeria.
Ajayi, however, called on the National Assembly to urgently take all necessary steps to enact appropriate laws and/or amend the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution to facilitate the immediate take-off of state police.
He also called on states’ Houses of Assembly, the state governments, and the National Economic Council (NEC) “to rally round the President so that state police can take off before the end of this year.”
Afenifere spokesman stated that the pan-Yoruba organisation totally agrees with Mr. President that the insecurity in the country is surmountable and called for all hands to be on deck to bring this idea to fruition as soon as possible.
Ohanaeze Mum On State Police
The apex Igbo social-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo chose to be silent the issue of state police.
Attempts made by our correspondent to get a reaction from the President General of Ohanaeze, Senator Azuta Mbata, met a brick wall as he refused to comment on the issue.
When our correspondent called the Ohanaeze President General on the phone, he replied and sent a text, but refused to respond to the text message sent to his phone.
LEADERSHIP Friday, however, recalls that Ohanaeze has been pushing for restructuring, saying it is the panacea to some of the country’s challenges.
The national publicity secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Ezechukwu Ezechi, had in an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP in Enugu, averred that restructuring would help the federating states and regions to develop at their own pace.
The Ohanaeze spokesman pointed out that restructuring will give the regions power to control their resources and use them to develop their areas.
“There is a need to restructure Nigeria so that the various regions will have financial and structural autonomy to develop their indigenous economic roadmap,” he stated.
