President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given his approval to the establishment of state police as part of measures to combat rising insurgency and banditry.
“I call on the National Assembly to begin reviewing our laws to allow states that require state police to establish them,” he said in a statement he personally issued.
The President, who declared a nationwide security emergency in response to the wave of violent attacks, directed the military and the police to embark on massive recruitment of personnel in readiness for a reinvigorated onslaught against terror.
The President also ordered the activation of forest guards and tighter security measures for all vulnerable areas.
Although state police has been on the front burner of constitutional amendment, some states and other individuals have urged caution, saying that the structure could be abused by heads of sub-national units.
Currently, each of the five Southwest states of Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, and Ekiti operates a security outfit, especially Amotekun, in response to the mounting security challenges.
Lagos, which pioneered the idea of a security trust fund, also funds an outfit, neighbourhood watch, to complement the police.
In the Southeast, Ebube Agu was mooted by the governors of Anambra, Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi.
In the North, many state governments have set up the civilian Joint Task Force for the maintenance of law and order.
Yesterday, governors from the Southwest, Southeast and Southsouth met in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to brainstorm on strategies for strengthening the apparatus in their domains.
They said in their communique that state police are non-negotiable.
Acknowledging the imperative of a decentralised policing structure, President Tinubu said the Federal Government would support the initiative at the state level.
He said: “Our administration will support state governments which have set up security outfits to safeguard their people from the terrorists bent on disrupting our national peace.”
President Tinubu said to strengthen the current federal police, “the police will recruit an additional 20,000 officers, bringing the total to 50,000.”
