State Police Plan Gains Ground With IGP
Nigeria moved a step closer to decentralised policing as the new Inspector General of Police, Mr Tunji Disu, set up a committee to design a structure for state police.
The move came shortly after President Bola Tinubu swore him in at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and urged lawmakers to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow the reform.
Disu said the panel has four weeks to produce a plan that will guide how state police could operate across the country.
The group is expected to study policing systems within and outside Nigeria, examine local security needs and suggest an operational structure that would allow state forces to work alongside the national police.
The committee will also look into recruitment, training, funding and oversight to ensure professionalism and public confidence.
Disu said bringing policing closer to communities could improve local intelligence and allow faster responses to threats while the Federal Government focuses on wider national security issues.
He added that fears about governors using state police for political battles would be examined before final proposals are made.
Disu said Nigeria is not the only country running such a system and comparative studies would guide the recommendations.
