morgANABLE politics/Governance
Citing data from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, he said the country’s revenue disparities could affect the ability of individual states to establish and maintain effective police services
KaNo—
Ogun State Governor and Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, Dapo Abiodun, has said Nigeria requires an additional 554,353 police personnel to adequately staff the proposed state police system.
Abiodun said the country would need to recruit approximately 184,784 personnel annually over three years to meet the projected requirement, based on the United Nations benchmark of one police officer to 414 citizens.
The governor disclosed this on Thursday while delivering the keynote address at the posthumous 70th birthday colloquium of the late former Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Oyo State.
The colloquium, organised under the theme, “Fundamentals and Governance of State Policing: Towards a New Architecture for National Security in Nigeria,” brought together serving and former governors, lawmakers, security chiefs, traditional rulers, academics, civil society representatives, family members and associates of the deceased.
Abiodun said the debate over state police had moved beyond advocacy, arguing that the country needed to establish a decentralised policing structure to address its security challenges.
“The debate is no longer whether Nigeria needs state police, but how swiftly and sustainably we establish it,” he said.
According to the governor, Nigeria could no longer sustain a security arrangement in which policing responsibilities remained largely centralised at the federal level, despite differences in the security needs and circumstances of individual communities.
“Security is intrinsically local. You cannot police a community whose language you do not speak, whose terrain you do not know. State policing is not a threat to unity; it is the bedrock of stability and prosperity,” he said.
However, Abiodun warned that the proposed reform could face implementation challenges if states were left to finance their respective police structures without adequate support from the Federal Government.
Citing data from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, he said the country’s revenue disparities could affect the ability of individual states to establish and maintain effective police services.
He disclosed that Lagos, Rivers, the Federal Capital Territory, Ogun and Enugu accounted for 61.6 per cent of internally generated revenue, while 76 per cent of states generated below the national average of N13,600 per capita. He added that half of the states earned less than N6,334 per capita.
The governor said the figures highlighted the need for an equitable funding framework that would ensure states with weaker revenue bases could establish functional police services.
“Insecurity in low-revenue states spills over nationally. Underfunding one state’s police becomes everyone’s crisis,” he said.
To address the funding challenge, Abiodun advocated the establishment of a constitutional state police take-off fund that would provide equal-access grants, need-based financial support and disbursements tied to agreed standards.
He said the funding structure should prevent disparities in state revenues from translating into unequal levels of security protection for citizens.
Abiodun also disclosed that the Presidential Working Group was developing operational blueprints, financial models, accountability mechanisms and legislative oversight arrangements for the proposed state police system.
The frameworks, he said, would cover recruitment, training, governance and procedures for addressing abuses by officers.
On recruitment, the governor called for transparent selection processes, thorough vetting and a system that reflected the diversity of the communities officers would serve.
He said personnel should receive training in criminal investigation, evidence handling, lawful arrest, conflict management, proportionate use of force and the protection of vulnerable people.
Abiodun further stressed that state police must remain independent of partisan interests and provide equal protection to all citizens, irrespective of their political affiliations or views.
“Political opponents, journalists, peaceful protesters and minority communities deserve equal protection,” he said.
“Disagreement with a government cannot diminish a citizen’s rights. We must earn public confidence through safeguards that work.”
He also emphasised the need for adequate welfare packages for police personnel, including regular salaries, appropriate equipment, medical care, insurance and dependable support for their families.
According to him, welfare, discipline and accountability must develop together to ensure that the proposed police structure operates professionally.
He added that sustainable funding arrangements must cover salaries, training, equipment, communications, maintenance, investigations and the replacement of worn-out operational materials.
The governor also cautioned against allowing private interests to influence police operations, saying security trust funds could complement public financing only under transparent rules.
“Private contributions must follow clear rules and public accountability; they must never purchase influence over investigations or preferential treatment,” he said.
Abiodun argued that effective security was essential not only for protecting lives and property but also for improving the country’s economic prospects.
He said insecurity affected agricultural production, investment, infrastructure development and other activities needed for economic growth.
“National security today is not just physical protection; it is economic security, food security, health security, financial security and freedom of worship. None survives in lawlessness,” he said.
“We cannot build a $1 trillion economy on fragile security. FDI will not flow where investors fear. Agriculture cannot thrive when farmers cannot access farms.
“Infrastructure cannot yield returns when corridors are unsafe. Securing states through state police is not merely a security strategy; it is our primary economic strategy,” he added.
Abiodun also paid tribute to Akeredolu, crediting the late governor with helping to move the debate on decentralised policing from theory to practical regional action.
He recalled Akeredolu’s role in the establishment of the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, on January 9, 2020.
The security outfit was established to strengthen community-level responses to security threats across the South-West.
In his remarks, Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, said Akeredolu’s advocacy for state police had progressed from a regional campaign to the centre of Nigeria’s national policy and constitutional discussions.
Aiyedatiwa, who served as deputy governor under Akeredolu before succeeding him, said the late governor regarded public office as an opportunity to serve rather than a symbol of status.
He said the establishment of Amotekun demonstrated the importance of giving communities closer to security challenges a meaningful role in protecting their residents.
“The establishment of the Southwest Security Network, the Amotekun Corps, represented a bold assertion that those closest to the people must have a meaningful role in protecting them,” he said.
Aiyedatiwa added that the task before Nigeria was to develop a state police system that would be responsive to local security needs while remaining professional and accountable.
“The Nigerian federation must find the balance between national cohesion and local responsiveness; between federal authority and subnational capacity; between operational effectiveness and fundamental rights,” he said.
Also speaking, former Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, paid tribute to Akeredolu, recalling his commitment to justice and advocacy for a decentralised security architecture.
Fayemi, who worked closely with the late governor through the Southwest Governors’ Forum, described him as a leader whose convictions were stronger than political convenience.
He said Akeredolu’s contribution to discussions on multi-level policing continued to influence the national conversation on security reform.
The discussions at the colloquium highlighted the proposed state police system’s key implementation challenges, including recruitment, financing, accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights.
Abiodun maintained that addressing these issues through constitutional safeguards and sustainable funding would be essential to ensuring that the proposed reform strengthened security across the country without leaving financially weaker states behind.
