President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged that his administration will establish state police as part of renewed efforts to confront the country’s escalating security challenges.
The commitment was made during an interfaith Iftar (breaking of the Ramadan fast) hosted for state governors and senior officials at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday night.
Addressing the gathering, Tinubu said his government would not delay on its earlier promises, many of which were made before he assumed office in 2023.
“We will establish state police to curb insecurity,” he said, adding that stronger security structures are essential for peace, economic growth and community stability.
Security issues, including insurgency, banditry, kidnappings and communal clashes, have plagued various regions of Nigeria for years.
Security experts and political leaders have increasingly called for decentralised policing, arguing that state-level forces could respond more effectively to local threats than a centralised system alone.
Tinubu told the governors the country had “emerged from economic uncertainty” and that tackling insecurity remains vital for prosperity and national cohesion.
He urged state governments to redouble efforts to reach grassroots communities where security conditions have been weakest.
The president also emphasised unity across Nigeria’s diverse religious and ethnic landscape, saying the convergence of Ramadan with the Christian season of Lent offered a moment of solidarity.
“This sacred season … reminds us that beyond politics and policy, we are first a people of conscience,” he said.
Tinubu’s renewed pledge comes ahead of ongoing discussions in the National Assembly on constitutional amendments and legislation needed to formally enable states to create their own police forces.
