The Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has declared strong support for the establishment of state police, saying decentralised policing is urgently needed to confront Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
He stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, which was monitored by our correspondent.
Adams said he “totally agrees” with the position of the Southern Governors’ Forum, which recently renewed its call for state police as part of restructuring the country’s policing system.
The leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress also commended South-West governors for taking the lead on the issue.
“Anybody who loves this country will not disagree with state police, considering the situation we have,” he said.
Addressing concerns that state governors may misuse state police against political opponents, Adams said such fears should not overshadow the need to prioritise the protection of lives and property.
“Let us first talk about the protection of life and property, which is the primary responsibility of any government. Partisan politics is secondary,” he stated.
Adams argued that one of the major weaknesses of the current security structure is the deployment of officers who are not familiar with the communities they serve. He stressed that effective policing requires personnel drawn from local environments, who understand the terrain, history and people.
“If people in the community are not allowed to police and secure their area, bringing someone unfamiliar with the environment will make the job very difficult,” he said.
Using his hometown of Arigidi-Akoko in Ondo State as an example, Adams explained that residents possess in-depth knowledge of the community’s history, forest routes, and families that have lived there for generations—information that helps identify criminal elements and trace incidents quickly.
“We know our forests. We know where intruders enter. We know individuals with criminal backgrounds. Community members can provide intelligence that outsiders cannot,” he said.
Adams emphasised that Nigeria, with its three-tier system of government, cannot rely solely on a centralised policing structure.
He maintained that for security to be effective, each tier—federal, state, and local—must be allowed to develop its own police framework.
“There is no way you can run a country with three tiers of governance but only one structure of policing. Without allowing the three tiers to have their own policing structures, you cannot achieve effective security,” he said.
Demands for state policing have intensified in recent months, driven by rising insecurity across the country.
The Southern Governors’ Forum, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, traditional rulers, civil society groups, and security experts have repeatedly called on the Federal Government to decentralise policing.
Several governors, especially from the South-West, have argued that the centralised Nigeria Police Force is overstretched and unable to respond swiftly to localised security threats.
Regional outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West and vigilante groups in the North have emerged as stopgap measures, further fuelling debate over constitutional restructuring to allow state-controlled police services.
Despite concerns about potential political misuse, advocates insist that decentralised policing is essential for intelligence gathering, quicker response times, and stronger community involvement.
Adams’ comments add to the growing pressure on the Federal Government to adopt state policing as part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s security system.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had called on 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.
This was contained in a statement issued on November 26 by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, declaring a nationwide security emergency.
“I call on the National Assembly to begin reviewing our laws to allow states that require state police to establish them,” he said.
The President also added that his “administration will support state governments that have set up security outfits to safeguard their people from terrorists bent on disrupting our national peace.”
