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IGP Kicks As Abdulsalami, Jonathan, Others Canvass State Police
Former President Goodluck Jonathan and other stakeholders Monday supported establishment of state police as a way of addressing the security challenges in the country.
But the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, argued that Nigeria was not yet ripe for state police.
They spoke in Abuja during the national dialogue on state police, with the theme ‘Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria.’
The dialogue was organised by the House of Representatives in partnership with the Policy Legislative and Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
State police is part of the proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution by the 10th National Assembly.
A bill seeking to alter the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution to empower states to establish their policing outfits, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Okezie Kalu and 14 other lawmakers in the lower chamber had, on February 20, passed second reading.
Jonathan said there was no way Nigeria could have adequate security without state police.
According to him, the question of whether to have state police is not an issue of debate, noting that the issue is how to avoid misuse of state police.
He said during the 2014 national conference organised by his administration, when the issue of state police came up, all delegates unanimously supported it alongside other proposed security measures.
He said: “The issue of the need for states to have their own police is not negotiable. There is no way we can continue with this kidnapping that is going on in this country.
“Commercial kidnapping started around 2006, I don’t want to go into that history, when I was governor. But it started in the Niger Delta. Now, it is all over the country.
“The only thing that can help us if we cannot stop it completely, at least, we reduce it to the barest minimum if the states have their police. “In Bayelsa State, when we took over, the state was almost ungovernable. Abdulsalami would remember that when elections were to be conducted in December 1998, the security situation was so bad.
“When we took over, the state was in crisis. Niger Delta agitation was there. The criminal elements were also operating in the creeks and were causing issues for market women and others until Alamieyeseigha, then the governor, set up the Bayelsa Volunteers that worked with the police. We built stations around the creeks and the boys volunteered to work with the police and that brought the situation down. So, there is no way we can manage internal security if states would not have their police.”
Jonathan asked: “How do we manage the state police and it would not be abused by state political actors? If state political actors are abusing and using state police to harass and make life miserable for people who do not belong to their political parties, would the Commander-in-Chief sit down and watch or would he order the military to go and overrun the state police? Of course, that would bring crises.
“And then the key areas that we have to debate are how do we run the state police vis-a-vis the national security architecture of the country? These things need to be done carefully. There are so many countries that have this (state police). We have also experimented before, during the First Republic.”
The former president also said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) operations must be rejigged.
He also suggested that the use of police in elections be made minimal.
According to him, the laws must be strong enough to eliminate tendencies of political actors misusing the state police for their political interests or intimidate political opponents.
Politicians shouldn’t influence state police operations – Abdulsalami
General Abdulsalam Abubakar in his speech cautioned that politicians should not influence operations of state police when established.
“I think, as much as we’re talking of establishing state police, we should also look into the role vis-a-vis that of our royal fathers.
“It’s absolutely necessary for the politicians as much as possible to avoid exerting influence on the ways the police are going to operate if at all we agree to have the police,” he said.
Abdulsalami also stressed the need to review the roles of traditional institutions in addressing insecurity.
He also said that political leaders must ensure honesty, transparency and accountability in governance to engender peace and security in the country.
Ooni of Ife, Emir of Zazzau back state police
The Emir of Zazzau, Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, said state police would tackle the security challenges better than the current centralised federal policing system.
“We’re in full support of the state police. My emirate is vulnerable to security challenges. If we can have local police, it can scale down the level of insecurity. I’m optimistic that we should key into it”, he said.
He, however, warned that politicians should not use state police with impunity.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, also urged the National Assembly to make state police come to reality.
He said there was no better time for the country to adopt state police than now, given the current security challenges.
A former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, said the benefits of state police outweigh its demerits.
He said state police would enhance security at the grassroots.
He, however, suggested that modalities be put in place to prevent abuse of state police as well as address its funding.
IGP says Nigeria not ripe for state police
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, said Nigeria was not “mature” for state police.
The IGP, represented by Ben Okolo, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, said the leadership of the force had resolved that Nigeria was not yet ripe for state police.
He said state governors might abuse and use state police for political gains, thereby causing abuse of power and human rights.
“It’s the submission of the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force that Nigeria is yet to be mature and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police,” he said.
The IGP said the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) should be merged to become a department in the police.
He said the recruitment of police personnel should be increased by at least 30,000 annually to meet the minimum policing standard of the United Nations.
He also pointed out the financial requirements for establishing state police, insisting that the state government might lack adequate funding.
My commitment to police reforms unwavering – Tinubu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said his administration was committed to reforming the police to enhance their efficiency and operations.
He said the broad base of stakeholders present at the dialogue underscored the significance attached to the issues of security in the country.
The president said he looked forward to inputs that would guide the government in taking actions to address security challenges in the country.
He described Jonathan and the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), as men of honour who shelved personal interests to entrench democracy and guarantee Nigeria’s continued existence.
Current policing system ineffective – Abbas
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, said the emerging security challenges had rendered the current unitary policing system, under the Nigeria Police Force, ineffective, leading to calls for its decentralisation by way of having state police.
He said the current security architecture had been overstretched by the security challenges.
He, however, noted that the House remained neutral in the debate for and against state police.
Abbas said evolving security challenges and other institutional and structural challenges had severely affected the general effectiveness of the police.
It must not be used as tool of oppression – Akpabio
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, represented by his deputy, Jibrin Barau, said state police must not be used as a tool of oppression by the powerful in the society.
He said, “If we’re to set up state police departments, we must ensure they’re free from the shackles of politics, religious extremism, tribalism and ethnicity. We must empower them to serve and protect without fear or favour.
“Let us never forget that the power of the state police should never be used as a tool of oppression. Let us ensure that political powers cannot manipulate the state police to silence dissent or target their enemies.
“Let us ensure that the influential do not exert undue influence over the state police, and that justice is blind to wealth, power, politics, or status.”
‘Why state police may not work’
Other speakers at the dialogue said establishing state police would not necessarily make any difference if the government failed to address the drivers of insecurity.
A former spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force, Group Capt. Sadeeq Shehu, urged the government to tackle unemployment, hunger, ethno-religious tensions and poverty.
Archbishop John Onaiyekan said the government should first address the problems with the current federal policing system before talking about establishing state police.
A security consultant, Kabiru Adamu, said most drivers of insecurity were embedded in bad governance, adding that if the government could tackle unemployment, lack of access to education, healthcare and other social services, the insecurity would be tamed.
Let’s not rush – Arase
A former Inspector-General of Police and chairman of the Police Service Commission, Solomon Arase, said while it was good to have conversations on state police, it must not be done in a rush.
He said successive governments had failed to show the political will to implement police reforms.
Arase said a proper groundwork should be done before creating state police so that it would not be hijacked by governors whom he described as being “very powerful.”
The Lagos State Government has officially announced the reintroduction of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, set to resume on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
This marks the return of the state-wide cleaning culture nearly ten years after its suspension in 2016.
Residents are expected to clean their surroundings, clear drainage channels in front of their homes, and dispose of waste responsibly as part of efforts to improve environmental hygiene and tackle waste management challenges.
The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, on Saturday, disclosed the development in a statement, explaining that the exercise would officially restart later in the year.
“I am pleased to inform all Lagosians that the monthly environmental sanitation exercise will resume effective Saturday, 25th April 2026, holding on the last Saturday of every month from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
“During this period, residents are enjoined to clean their surroundings, clear drainage channels in their frontages, and dispose of waste properly as a civic responsibility.”
Wahab urged residents to view the initiative as a shared duty toward building a healthier city, stressing that the government would ensure strict compliance.
“This exercise is a collective responsibility and a vital part of our commitment to a cleaner, healthier, and flood-resilient Lagos. And it shall be backed with the full enforcement weight of the Lagos State Government,” he said.
Explaining the significance of reintroducing the sanitation culture, the commissioner said the state was returning to a practice that once formed part of Lagosians’ lifestyle.
“Let me formally say this and say it boldly. Mr Governor and his deputy are taking a very audacious step. For those who don’t know, prior to 2016, we had a culture that emphasised cleanliness as next to godliness.
“Once every month, we took our time to clean up our surroundings and then maintain them sparkling. However, for some years, we stopped it.”
He said the absence of the exercise had contributed to mounting environmental pressures in the state.
“Now, waste, debt, and environmental challenges have become an existential challenge to us as a state. It’s taken us over a year to debate, talk, and agree that it’s time to reintroduce a monthly environmental sanitation,” Wahab said.
Appealing to residents for cooperation, he urged Lagosians to dedicate a small portion of their time each month to environmental cleanliness.
“It’s a plea that it is time for us to give up just one or two hours a month. In our marketplaces, every Thursday, we observe environmental cleanliness. But this time, we are saying as a state, let us sit back once a month and observe the cleanliness of our environment as we used to before 2016.”
JomogNews reports that the monthly sanitation exercise, previously held on the last Saturday of every month between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., was suspended in November 2016 following a legal pronouncement restricting movement during the exercise.
The suspension later coincided with growing waste management concerns, including clogged drainage channels and indiscriminate refuse disposal across parts of the state.
President Bola Tinubu has urged the media to extend their scrutiny to State and Local Governments, noting that his administration’s reforms have significantly increased their financial allocations.
During an interfaith breaking of fast with media executives on Friday, the President emphasized that sub-national governments now enjoy greater financial autonomy and should be held accountable for grassroots development.
Tinubu said his administration’s economic reforms, especially the removal of the petrol subsidy, have increased funds available to states.
“We have opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money. But how they use it is in your hands, so don’t bombard me alone. Look at local governments too, and equally, the sub-national,” Tinubu said.
“Today, there is no state that is borrowing to pay the salaries of employees. Yes, we can complain that it is not enough. We can complain we are not where we should be, but we have to manage what we have to sustain today, survive tomorrow, and make progress”.
Tinubu commended the media for criticising his government, saying it challenged and provoked him to serve Nigerians better.
“Thank you for inspiring me and challenging me in critical moments of my life. If I look at various barrages of negative comments as opposed to positive aspects of the assignment, I shouldn’t be standing here. That is the truth,” the president said.
“You didn’t spare me, but you challenged me, provoked that intellectual curiosity of a leader that must perform. There is no morning that I ever leave my house without going through the newspapers. It’s an addiction. I read all of you, it might not be in full detail, but the headlines, the ones that hit me.
“Leadership is about taking responsibility to make decisions at the right time. Otherwise, it’s a failure. At the time, we had to confront the subsidy. Nigeria was on the verge of bankruptcy.
“But having asked for the job and getting it, I cannot look back other than make corrections as I move along, save the nation, bring it back from the brink. Today, I can stand proudly before you that we are back from that brink.”
Tinubu added that he will continue to do his job with “patriotic dedication” to improve Nigeria.
A prosecution witness, Captain Ezekiel Bala-Agaba, testified in a Lagos Federal High Court on Thursday, that he personally delivered $15 million in cash to former NIMASA DG, Patrick Akpobolokemi.
The witness, Bala-Agaba, a former Executive Director of Maritime Safety, Shipping Development and Marine Operations at NIMASA, made the disclosure while testifying before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Captain Agaba, who appeared as the 15th prosecution witness, told the court that funds meant for pipeline surveillance were withdrawn from NIMASA’s accounts, converted into dollars, and handed over to Dr Akpobolokemi.
According to him, the money was taken to a Bureau de Change, which converted it into $15 million before the cash was delivered to the NIMASA office on Burma Road, Apapa, Lagos.
He said he subsequently took the money to the office of the then Director-General.
“The money was sent to a Bureau de Change, which later brought the dollar equivalent to our office at Burma Road, Apapa, Lagos. I asked my Personal Assistant, Ekene Nwakuche, to carry the bag and follow me to the Director-General’s office,” he told the court.
The witness explained that he collected the bag from his aide before entering the office.
“When we got to the door of the Director-General’s office, I collected the bag from him and asked him to wait outside. I then personally delivered the sum of $15 million to the Director-General.”
The witness was initially a defendant in the case but later opted to testify for the prosecution.
While being led in evidence by prosecuting counsel, Suleiman Suleiman, he explained the chain of command within NIMASA and how financial approvals were processed in the agency.
According to him, the Director-General is the overall head of the agency and issues instructions to directors, who then implement policies in line with the NIMASA Act.
He told the court that he chaired the agency’s Intelligence Committee, which was responsible for certain security-related operations.
“As chairman of the committee, I oversaw its activities and reported directly to the Director-General, Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi,” he said.
During the proceedings, the witness was also shown a document containing a letter from Access Bank to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) detailing transactions in NIMASA’s accounts between 2013 and 2015.
When asked how much money he took to the former Director-General, Agaba replied: “$15 million.”
After listening to the testimony, Justice Faji adjourned the matter until April 22 and 23 for cross-examination of the witness.
The EFCC had in December 2015 arraigned Dr. Akpobolokemi and seven others before the court on a 30-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraudulent conversion of funds and money laundering.
Those charged alongside the former NIMASA boss include, Warredi Enisuoh, Governor Juan, Ugo Frederick, Timi Alari, as well as Alkenzo Limited and Penniel Engineering Services Limited.
They pleaded not guilty to the offences.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants conspired to divert funds running into over N1.15 billion under the guise of providing security intelligence in Nigeria’s maritime domain.
According to the EFCC, the NIMASA Intelligence Committee allegedly received N1,153,000,000 between December 2013 and July 2015.
Investigations further revealed that several companies contracted to execute the intelligence operations were either unregistered or lacked the capacity to perform the services, while some were allegedly linked to the defendants.
The prosecution also alleged that the defendants nominated or owned many of the companies used to execute the contracts.
One of the charges stated that the defendants conspired to commit offences punishable under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2012.
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