According to the information minister on Thursday, Nigeria is contemplating on establishing state police in each of its 36 states to support its national police force in the face of pervasive violence and insecurity.
Nigeria’s police force faces a number of challenges, including an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, kidnappings for ransom, deadly farmer-herder clashes in the central belt, and separatist and gang violence in the southeast.
In order to address the issue of insecurity, which is harming farmers and driving up food prices and inflation, President Bola Tinubu met with state governors across the nation.
Following the meeting, Information Minister Mohammed Idris told reporters that there had been “a significant shift” in approach between the federal and state governments regarding the necessity of a state police force.
For the first time, state and federal governments in Nigeria have concurred that state police are necessary to supplement the country’s over 300,000-strong national police force. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa.
Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun of the Nigerian Police stated last year that at least 190,000 more officers were required to properly secure the nation. According to him, the force’s proportion was far lower than the one police officer for every 450 citizens that the UN recommends.
