Senate Leader Advocates for State Police to Enhance Internal Security

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, emphasized on Monday the need for creating state police to strengthen internal security in Nigeria.

In a statement released by the Directorate of Media and Publicity, Office of the Senate Leader in Abuja, Bamidele highlighted the inadequacies of the current police system, describing it as “ailing and dysfunctional.”

“We must admit that the system can no longer guarantee the dignity of human lives and the security of collective assets, considering our security dynamics in the Fourth Republic,” he stated.

Bamidele noted that the proposal for state police has been a topic of intense debate for over a decade, driven by increasing armed attacks across various geo-political zones.

“Nigeria, as one of the world’s fastest-growing nations in terms of population, cannot continue operating a unitarist security architecture despite its strong federal tendencies,” he added.

Comparing historical and current population figures, Bamidele pointed out that Nigeria’s population has surged from 70.75 million in 1979 to approximately 229 million today, making it the world’s sixth-largest country.

Despite this, the police-citizen ratio remains critically low at one officer per 650 citizens, far below the United Nations’ recommended minimum of one per 460.

“The shortfall further reinforces the dysfunctionality of the centrally-controlled model the country is currently operating,” Bamidele said.

He expressed hope that the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution would provide stakeholders the opportunity to redefine governance structures and recalibrate the security architecture.

“But we must go about it with a clear sense of self-realization.

We must, first and foremost, realize that the present police system is ailing and dysfunctional,” Bamidele stressed.

He concluded that the establishment of state police is an inevitable solution to the diverse security challenges facing Nigeria as a federation.