Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has said the establishment of state police will go a long way in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges by giving governors the real authority to function as chief security officers of their states.
Lawal stated this on Wednesday while speaking as a panellist at the Arise News Town Hall Summit: “Building a National Consensus for State Police & National Security” held at the Thisday Dome, Abuja.
In a statement issued by his Spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, the governor argued that the persistence of insecurity in many states is largely due to the disconnect between responsibility and control.
According to him, governors are designated as chief security officers but do not have command and control over security structures in their states.
“We’re being called chief security officers of our respective states; however, the command and control structure is not under the governors,” Lawal said.
He added that vesting security responsibility in state governments would lead to better funding, equipment, and personnel for policing at the grassroots.
“When state governments are responsible for the security of lives and property within their domains, the police would be better equipped and have more personnel to tackle crime,” he said.
The governor welcomed the ongoing national discourse on state police, describing it as a step in the right direction.
“I am happy with the recent development of state police because it allows us to keep to our responsibilities and for our people also to hold us accountable as far as the security situation is concerned in our respective states,” he stated.
“I strongly believe that, by the time we have state police, it will go a long way in solving a lot of the challenges, and we can then bear our names as proper chief security officers of our respective states.”
Addressing concerns that state police could be misused by governors against political opponents, Lawal said such fears are not backed by experience.
He noted that most states already operate various security outfits without evidence of them being used to oppress opposition.
While dismissing claims of abuse by state executives, the governor noted that “almost all states of the federation have one or more security apparatuses in place, and none of these security outfits has been used to oppress opposition in the states.”
However, he urged the National Assembly to enact safeguards.
“I support state police. I recognise people’s fears of possible abuse, but with the right processes in place, those fears will be allayed,” Lawal said. “I, however, urged the lawmakers to put measures in place to prevent abuse.”
The Arise News Town Hall Summit was convened to build consensus on state police and broader national security reforms, as concerns over insecurity continue to dominate public discourse across Nigeria.
The event brought together national security leaders, governors, lawmakers, civil society organisations, policy experts, traditional rulers, and other stakeholders to deliberate on strategies to secure communities and protect lives across the country.
The debate on state police has gained renewed momentum amid rising cases of banditry, kidnapping, and communal clashes, with many state governors arguing that a decentralized policing system is critical to effective crime prevention.