Nigeria’s 36 governors have called for constitutional safeguards, among other provisos, to guide the proposed establishment of state police, raising concerns over any framework that would require approval from the National Assembly before states can set up their police.
Although all the governors agreed that there was a need for state policing and pushing for it in view of the security situation in the country, the framework and detailed parameters, THISDAY gathered, remained hazy, prompting the decision to engage the federal lawmakers and other stakeholders more closely on the matter.
For instance, they want policing transferred from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List to enable states play a more active role in tackling insecurity in their respective jurisdictions.
In the same vein, they argued that such a framework that required the subnational heads to approach the National Assembly individually for approval would undermine the autonomy, responsiveness and effectiveness of subnational policing structures in addressing local security challenges.
Although these were not part of the communiqué by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Wednesday after a meeting in Abuja, which ran till the morning of yesterday, it was exclusively learnt from top inside sources that aside from the issues mentioned earlier, another issue of concern was funding.
It was gathered that the framework has proposed three per cent Federation Account allocation, which some governors said would be barely enough to pay the salaries of the recruits into police in their states, talk more of purchase of equipment and training.
But after the meeting, the governors unanimously threw their support behind the immediate establishment of state police in the country, stating that such a structure should be constitutionally guaranteed and aligned with federalism and citizens’ rights.
The Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led NGF and the state executives, disclosed that they received a presentation from the Forum’s secretariat and a delegation of the Attorneys-General of the States on efforts to support establishing state police in Nigeria.
According to the governors, there was a dedicated consultation with the attorneys-general to review the proposed constitutional amendments and frameworks.
In the communique read by the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, the Forum noted the need for collaborative effort and added that the consultation outcomes would strengthen states’ collective position.
Abiodun said: “We, members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), at our meeting held today, deliberated on issues affecting the country. Following extensive deliberations, the Forum resolved as follows:
‘’The Forum received a presentation from the NGF Secretariat and a delegation of the Honourable Attorneys-General of the States on efforts to support establishing State Police in Nigeria. It noted a dedicated consultation with the attorneys-general to review the proposed constitutional amendments and frameworks.
“Governors emphasised the need for the State Police to be constitutionally sound and aligned with federalism and citizens’ rights. The Forum noted the collaborative effort and added that the consultation outcomes would strengthen the states’ collective position.”
Separately, THISDAY was told by other sources that one of the issues to be ironed out was whether the National Assembly should approve modalities for each individual state, with a number of the governors feeling that this might be politicised.
According to the source, while some governors propose moving policing from the Exclusive to the Concurrent Legislative List, giving State Houses of Assembly the power to legislate on State Police, the National Assembly bill did not incorporate this, meaning that this has to be corrected.
It is understood that the existing bill vests all legislative power over state police in the National Assembly, a framework the source described as defective and constitutionally inoperative at state level.
“Similar to all, there is an important point that is unacceptable, which is the fact the National Assembly will be the one to approve the operations of a state police after the state meets some set criteria. This might be applied subjectively,” a top source within the NGF told THISDAY.
The governors had in April this year backed what they described as the proactive development of a state police framework by the secretariat, the umbrella body of the forum, in preparation for the proposed constitutional amendments.
The framework brought out key readiness requirements, including governance structures, financing models, human capital standards, digital systems and oversight mechanisms.
However, another reliable NGF source stated that there were no serious disagreements per say, pointing out that intense engagements were ongoing to ensure that areas of concern were thrashed out.
“No, we didn’t give any condition (for the operationalisation of state police). We’re just engaging with National Assembly etc. No conditions. We’re just engaging and discussing. So, that’s what the meeting was all about to kind of reach the parameters,” he stated.
On the section that requires the National Assembly to ‘micromanage’ the process by approving details of modalities to be followed, rather than leave the job for State Assemblies, the NGF source explained that it was necessary to carry out an assessment because the policing need of every state is peculiar.
“There are constitutional safeguards already, because it’s going from here (Abuja) to state assemblies. Those are the constitutional safeguards. An assessment has to be made.
“For example, I cannot come out and say we want 20,000 policemen or that Kano with its population will say we think we want 10,000. There’s an anomaly there.
“So, you cannot employ police you can’t pay. It’s to give room for discussions and parameters or yardstick. We can then say this is your population. We want to use a yardstick of 10 policemen per 1,000 people. So, those are the parameters.
“That is something that can be discussed. Like they say, ‘the devil is in the details’. There are other issues like, what are light weapons? What are small weapons?
“If state police can have light weapons, those are very dangerous weapons. So, light weapons is not pistol or AK-47. These are GPMGs that are tripod-mounted,” the source added.
He explained further that the issue of funding and training would have to be sorted out before the take-off of state police.
“Do we need revenue alocation adjustments to accommodate this number of people to be employed? Because if you’re employing, say, 10,000 across board, 10,000 times 36, that’s 360,000. That’s almost double the strength of the Nigerian Army today.
“We are in a hurry to pass the police law, but we need safeguards in the bill that will checkmate what we’re heading towards. So, it shouldn’t be seen as if we dissenting.
“If you look at it, it might take three years for the first police man to be on the beat after training and so on, registration and so on, deciding how many policemen in a state,” he stressed.
The governors also reiterated their commitment to ongoing power sector reforms and to strengthening collaboration among stakeholders to expand access to reliable and affordable electricity for Nigerians.
According to the communiqué, the Forum received a presentation on the National Solar Super-Grid (NSSG) Initiative, a proposal to expand electricity access through large-scale decentralised solar generation integrated with a national high-voltage transmission network.
Against this backdrop, the governors noted the initiative’s potential to support industrialisation, improve energy security, strengthen state electricity markets, and accelerate economic growth.
The governors have also resolved to support the National Nutrition 774 (N-774) Initiative as they reaffirmed their commitment to improving nutrition outcomes and reducing child malnutrition across Nigeria.
They also noted the ongoing work on the National Nutrition Bill and encouraged continued engagement with relevant stakeholders to strengthen the legal and policy framework for nutrition governance.
Okpebholo Advocates Special Courts to Try Kidnappers
Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpeholo, has advocated a special court to try Kidnappers and cultists in the state.
The governor disclosed this during the parade of some kidnappers and cultists arrested by the Edo Police Command in Benin yesterday.
Okpebholo said there was a need for special courts to fast track trials of criminals so that cases would not go forever.
According to him, once courts have done their bit he was ready to sign the death warrant with immediate effect.
Addressing suspected kidnappers, Okpebholo said: “Now we are going to set up a special court to try kidnappers and cultists, within two or three weeks we are done with it and I will sign your warrant for execution or hanging.
“I will take you to the roundabout, that is a ring road, so that the whole people will see you. And this I will not have any regrets about it. So please don’t take my simplicity for granted, thank you very much,” the governor said.
He warned criminals not to settle in Edo, adding: “Whoever has such mind to kidnap, let me tell you, you cannot do it and go free. No crime that will be committed in Edo State, that such person will not be arrested. Whoever is supporting you or aiding you to do it please you have to stop because we are ready for you. We are not joking, we are not sleeping day and night. We are working to make sure that this land is safe.”
He appealed to youth to stay away from cultism and kidnapping because it would take them nowhere.
“It is cheaper for you to maintain your standard than to go into kidnapping because when you kidnap what you have before, you will lose it, at the same time you will lose your life,” he said.
Among those paraded included a 45-year-Oluchi Ugbowan, who conspired with her accomplices to stage her own abduction to extort N50 million from her family.
Explaining how Oluchi was arrested, the Edo State Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Agbonika, said a technical intelligence led to the arrest of one Israel Ability, who confessed to making ransom calls on her instructions.
The purported victim was subsequently traced and arrested in a hotel in Obiaruku, Delta State, where she confessed to the crime.
He added: “Further investigation led to the recovery of a pump-action gun used in videos created by one Chukwudem Uwadia, from Kwale, Delta State and his son, Chibuzor Chukwudem.”
Also paraded were kidnappers of a woman at the Vegetable Market, on June 14, along Airport Road, Benin City, who the Commissioner said were arrested through intelligence led operation.
Afenifere Urges FG to Be Decisive in Tackling Insecurity
Afenifere has called on the federal government to be more decisive in tackling the insecurity problem in the country.
It also called on the Southwest governors to come together to secure the region.
National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, in a statement, lamented that the failure of northern governments and leaders to rein in bandits in their midst was creating problems for people in the south including Yorubaland.
Ajayi noted that the antics of the leaders in the north “is making efforts at tackling insecurity in the South a herculean task”.
He added: “The terror acts occurring in the Southwest are being perpetrated by bandits from the northern part of the country as attested to even by security chiefs.
“For banditry and related insecurity acts to be stopped in Nigeria, there is the urgent need to take prompt steps against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes and their sponsors wherever they are.”
Ajayi pointed out that the abductions of school children in Oyo and Borno States over a month ago put a serious slur on what would have been a joyous celebration of the 27th uninterrupted civil rule in Nigeria.
He added that the monarch of Odo-Oriya, Oba Adeniyi Adelana in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State was, on Sunday night, abducted right in his palace while his wife was shot at.
In a similar gory situation, Ajayi said bandits also struck in Igbeti-Igboho-Kisi area of Oyo State over the weekend killing at least two people.
“Only on Tuesday night, a family was attacked in its home at Igbope, Oorelope Local Government Area of Oyo State.
“The family’s head, Mr. Ismail Aderoju popularly known as Al-Iklas, escaped being abducted but with a gunshot. Unfortunately, his wife, Kuburah, his two year-old child and three of his workers were abducted.”
Ajayi emphasised that the rate at which royal fathers were being abducted or killed in Yorubaland was very embarrassing as much as it was disturbing.
He noted: “It is embarrassing because our Obas who used to be the symbol of authority and power are being so plucked like lame ducks. Disturbing because the message such is sending seems to be a mockery of our very existence.
“It is as though the bandits are saying, ‘if we can so easily remove your leaders, what difficulty would we have to grab anyone of you that we set our hands upon?”
Ajayi recalled that since January 2024 when bandits ambushed the convoy of three monarchs returning from a security meeting and killed two of them, Oba Olatunde Samuel Olushola (Onimojo of Imojo-Ekiti) and Oba David Babatunde Ogunsakin (Elesun of Esun-Ekiti) and the invasion of Olukoro of Koro palace where they killed Oba Segun Aremu the following month, Afenifere has almost lost count of traditional rulers who had either been killed or abducted by bandits.
He said the situation was so serious that over 30 rulers in Kwara State had abandoned their palaces.
“The humiliation is not confined to traditional rulers. Top army brass have fallen victims. Among such were the former army spokesman, retired General Rabe Abubakar who was abducted along with his wife.
“The General died in his captors’ den while his wife was shot at when soldiers bombarded the bandits to rescue her after the burial of her husband.
“The General’s death in terrorists’ den is a sad commentary of our security situation as was the audacity of bandits to even operate in broad daylight in cities as exemplified by the abduction of Mrs Olaide John-Paul and her twin sons in Ibadan penultimate week.
“By ascribing the cause of the General’s death to nature, the Katsina government is giving the bandits an alibi to continue to perpetrate their evil acts.”
Yoruba Group Calls for Regional Unity
The Yoruba for Democratic Values (YDV), has expressed concern over the worsening security situation across Yorubaland, urging political leaders, traditional rulers, socio-cultural organisations, and citizens to unite against what it described as a growing wave of insecurity threatening the region.
In a statement, yesterday, by its spokesman, Debo Adeniran, the group expressed concern over increasing cases of kidnapping, violent attacks and criminal infiltration in parts of the South-West and other Yoruba-speaking communities.
According to it, “Recent developments across the Southwest should concern every Yoruba son and daughter irrespective of political affiliation, religious leaning, social status, or ideological persuasion.”
YDV noted that reports of kidnappings and violent criminal activities in Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Kwara states, as well as Yoruba-speaking areas of Kogi State, showed that insecurity had “increasingly crept into the heart of Yorubaland.
“Recent incidents include school-related abductions and attacks in parts of Oyo State, kidnapping incidents and arrests linked to criminal networks in Ekiti and Ondo State, as well as attempted abductions and violent operations in Ogun State.”
It stressed that the worsening security situation required collective action rather than political divisions.
Rights Group Demands Accountability in Safe Schools Initiative
The Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA), has called on the federal government to provide a comprehensive public account of the Safe Schools Initiative, questioning what has been achieved more than a decade after the programme was launched to protect schools and students from attacks and abductions.
The call was contained in a statement by Mrs. Funmi Falana, SAN, Chairperson of WELA, in which the organisation expressed concern over the continuing attacks on schools and recurring abductions of schoolchildren across the country despite substantial public investments aimed at improving school security.
WELA said recent incidents involving the kidnapping of students had once again drawn attention to the vulnerability of educational institutions and the fears faced by many Nigerian parents who send their children to school uncertain whether they will return home safely.
According to the organisation, the continued attacks demonstrate that schools, which should be safe spaces for learning, remain vulnerable to criminal violence, while families and communities continue to suffer trauma and anxiety.
The group recalled that following the abduction of more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, the federal government, in collaboration with private sector stakeholders and international development partners, launched the Safe Schools Initiative to strengthen school security and ensure uninterrupted access to education, particularly for girls.
Rumour of Bandits’ Invasion Stirs Unrest in Ilorin
Parents and guardians of students in public and private schools in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, yesterday, hurriedly stormed schools to pick their wards in view of swirling rumour that suspected bandits had stormed the ancient city of Ilorin.
Already, men of the forest guards and other allied security agencies had been deployed to all the parts of Ilorin and other strategic areas of the city to avoid unforeseen circumstances on the alleged rumour.
On a visit of our correspondent to some schools in Ilorin like ECWA Secondary school, United Secondary school, Sheikh Abdulsalam school, Methodist Secondary, all at Taiwo Isale area of Ilorin, parents were seen in hundreds, struggling to pick their children from the mentioned schools.
Also, at Lanjorin area of Ilorin, Cherubim and Seraphim Secondary School, His Grace school, St. Barnabas School, Mercy T Secondary School among others, parents were seen picking their children from the schools.
It was gathered that, the reported rumours of suspected invasion of Ilorin also created fears in the city as some businesses were paralysed for many hours in the town.
However, the state police command has debunked the alarm, describing it as misleading.
A statement issued in Ilorin by the police command Public Relations Officer(PPRO) SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi stated that, “At about 9:15 a.m., the command received reports of panic and commotion around Government Girls Secondary School, Oke-Oyi, following claims that suspected bandits had invaded the school premises.
“Upon receipt of the information, the Divisional Police Officer, Oke-Oyi Division, promptly mobilised personnel to the scene to assess the situation and ensure the safety of students, staff, and residents.
“Preliminary findings revealed that the alarm emanated from a woman, who reportedly rushed into the school premises claiming that bandits had arrived in the area.
“The unverified claim triggered panic among students and teachers, resulting in a temporary disruption of academic activities.
“The command’s assessment of the situation confirmed that the report was entirely false and without any factual basis.
“There was no bandit attack, no sighting of bandits, and no security breach within the school or anywhere in Oke-Oyi community or Kwara State.”
Meanwhile, the state commissioner of police, Mr. Ojo Adekimi has condemned the spread of false security alerts capable of creating fear, panic, and public disorder.
He noted that the dissemination of unverified information, particularly on sensitive security matters, undermined public confidence and may divert critical security resources from genuine emergencies.
Adekimi therefore said, “The command has commenced efforts to identify the individual responsible for raising the false alarm.
“The person, upon identification, will be invited for questioning and made to face the full weight of the law in accordance with extant legal provisions relating to the spread of false information and conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace.
“Residents are urged to remain vigilant but calm and to refrain from spreading rumours or unverified security information.
“Members of the public are encouraged to verify security-related information through appropriate channels and promptly report suspicious activities to the nearest Police formation.
“The Kwara State Police Command remains committed to safeguarding lives and property across the State and assures residents that adequate security measures remain in place to guarantee their safety.”
Police Arrest Suspected Supplier of Food to Bandits in Kwara
Operatives of the Kwara State Police Command have arrested suspected supplier of food items and other materials to suspected bandits operating within forested enclaves and remote locations across the state.
The state police commissioner, Mr. Ojo Adekimi, stated this in Ilorin, yesterday, while speaking with newsmen on the major breakthrough on the war against banditry activities in the state.
“As part of ongoing efforts to implement the strategic policing vision of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, geared towards intelligence-led crime fighting and the dismantling of criminal networks, the Kwara State Police Command has recorded another significant breakthrough through the operations of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU).
“Acting on credible intelligence and sustained covert surveillance, operatives of the Unit apprehended a suspect in Ilorin whose activities are strongly linked to the movement and supply of materials suspected to be destined for criminal elements operating within forested enclaves and remote locations across the State.
“Items recovered in connection with the investigation include a large quantity of assorted cigarette brands and other rations believed to form part of a logistics chain servicing criminal groups.
“Preliminary investigation indicates that the suspect plays a strategic support role within a broader network responsible for providing sustenance and other forms of assistance to bandits and allied criminal elements.
“During the course of the investigation, photographs recovered from the suspect’s mobile device showed him dressed in military camouflage and seated on a Bajaj motorcycle, further strengthening intelligence leads regarding his suspected association with criminal elements.
“Efforts are ongoing to identify and apprehend other collaborators connected to the network.”
Ojo, who reassured residents that ongoing security operations across the state were increasingly focused on targeting not only armed criminals, said that the command would also target the logistical structures, collaborators, informants, and suppliers that sustain their activities.
He therefore said that the command would remain resolute in denying criminal groups the resources, freedom of movement, and support networks required to operate, while sustaining pressure on all persons involved in aiding criminality in any form.
Thisdaylive.com
