Disu: State police is inevitable
The Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, has said the establishment of state police in Nigeria is now unavoidable, noting that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is prepared to play its role in ensuring the initiative succeeds.
Disu spoke shortly after he was sworn in as the 23rd Inspector General of Police on Wednesday in Abuja. According to him, the police view the proposed system as a collaborative effort rather than a threat to the existing structure.
He explained that a committee had already been constituted to examine the concept of state policing from the perspective of the Nigeria Police Force.
โThe committee was set up earlier today to review the issue of state police from the standpoint of the Nigerian police,โ Disu said.
โWe do not want a situation where others are making decisions while the institution most concerned is left out of the process.
โState police is here to stay, and the police must contribute their part to ensure it works effectively. Our jobs are not being taken away. It is simply a matter of partnership.โ
Earlier, the IGP inaugurated a committee tasked with overseeing the process leading to the establishment of state police.
The committee will be chaired by Olu Ogunsakin, a professor of police studies, and is expected to develop an operational framework for the creation and coordination of state police structures across the country.
President Bola Tinubu has repeatedly pledged that his administration will establish state police as part of broader efforts to address Nigeriaโs security challenges.
Recently, the president asked both chambers of the National Assembly to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide the legal framework required for the creation of state police.
The National Assembly has since begun the constitutional amendment process aimed at enabling the establishment of a decentralised policing system in the country.
