Insecurity: Review existing law to allow creation of state police

….urges suspension of open grazing amongst herders

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to review existing laws to allow states to establish their own police forces, as part of efforts to address rising insecurity across the country.

Tinubu made this known in a statement on Wednesday declaring a nationwide security emergency.

According to him, “I call on the National Assembly to begin reviewing our laws to allow states that require state police to establish them.”

The President also added that his “administration will support state governments which have set up security outfits to safeguard their people from the terrorists bent on disrupting our national peace.”

“States should rethink establishing boarding schools in remote areas without adequate security. Mosques and churches should constantly seek police and other security protection when they gather for prayers, especially in vulnerable areas,” he stated

The call for state police forms part of a broader security strategy, which includes recruiting 20,000 additional police officers, deploying trained forest guards, and reinforcing the Armed Forces in troubled regions.

The President, while reiterating his administration’s stance on resolving farmer-herder clashes, pointed to the establishment of the Ministry of Livestock Development.

He urged herder groups to abandon open grazing and embrace ranching, saying “I call on all herder associations to take advantage of it, end open grazing and surrender illegal weapons. Ranching is now the path forward”.

Tinubu, however, appealed to citizens to play their part, saying “the times require all hands on deck. As Nigerians, we should all get involved in securing our nation.”