‘Start reviewing our laws’: Tinubu tells National Assembly to legalise state police as insecurity rises

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the National Assembly to begin the review of existing laws to allow states to establish their own police forces, as part of efforts to address rising insecurity across the country.

This was contained in a statement on Wednesday declaring a nationwide security emergency. “I call on the National Assembly to begin reviewing our laws to allow states that require state police to establish them,” he said.

Tinubu added that his “administration will support state governments which have set up security outfits to safeguard their people from the terrorists bent on disrupting our national peace.”

He urged educational and religious institutions in remote or high-risk locations to ensure constant police presence.

“States should rethink establishing boarding schools in remote areas without adequate security. Mosques and churches should constantly seek police and other security protection when they gather for prayers, especially in vulnerable areas,” he stated

The call for state police forms part of a broader security strategy, which includes recruiting 20,000 additional police officers, deploying trained forest guards, and reinforcing the Armed Forces in troubled regions.

The President also directed the police authorities to recruit 20,000 new officers, bringing the total to 50,000, and approved the use of National Youth Service Corps camps as temporary training facilities.

“My fellow Nigerians, this is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas.

The times require all hands on deck. As Nigerians, we should all get involved in securing our nation,” Tinubu said.

Furthermore, the President directed the Department of State Services to deploy trained forest guards to flush out bandits and terrorists hiding in forests and to recruit more personnel for forest operations.

He reiterated that officers withdrawn from VIP duties should undergo crash training before redeployment to critical areas.

The issue of state police has been a controversial topic in Nigeria, as some politicians argue that if established, governors would use it to intimidate their opponents. However, others said the state police, as the insecurity in states is beyond what the federal government can handle alone.