Wale Igbintade
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, Lawal Pedro (SAN), has endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s call for the creation of state police, arguing that Nigeria’s centralised policing structure can no longer effectively address the country’s growing insecurity.
In a statement issued yesterday, Pedro backed the president’s push for a constitutional framework that would allow states willing and financially capable to establish and fund their own police forces.
According to him, many of Nigeria’s security challenges are localised crimes occurring within communities – particularly in rural areas, and require policing systems that are closer to the people.
“You will agree with me that the incidents that have increased insecurity in Nigeria today, such as banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, human trafficking, ritual killings, cultism, herdsmen-farmer clashes, ethnic and communal conflicts, and armed robbery, are largely local crimes occurring in different communities,” he said.
Pedro argued these crimes have persisted partly because the Nigeria Police Force, operating under a single federal structure, is overstretched and unable to adequately police the country’s vast territory.
“These local crimes have festered because of the inadequacy of the Nigerian Police Force to check them.
“This clearly shows that a single federal police system cannot adequately respond to security needs across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and the various local government areas,” he stated.
He noted the rising wave of insecurity has exposed what he described as the structural weaknesses of a centralised policing model in a diverse federal system like Nigeria.
Pedro recalled that state and regional policing are not new concepts in Nigeria, pointing out that similar arrangements existed during the First Republic.
“It will be recalled that during the First Republic, Nigeria operated regional and local police formations. Therefore, state policing is not alien to our legal history,” he said.
While reaffirming his support for the President’s proposal, Pedro acknowledged concerns that state governors could abuse state police for political or personal purposes.
However, he said such fears should not be grounds for outright rejection of the initiative.
“The major ground of opposition against state police is the fear that governors may abuse it. This concern is genuine; however, it is not enough to justify rejecting state police in Nigeria today,” he said.
Instead, he called for constitutional safeguards to prevent abuse and ensure accountability.
“What we need is a constitutional framework and safeguards that address these concerns. I believe that was the recent request of President Tinubu to the National Assembly,” Pedro added.
He proposed a unified policing structure integrating both federal and state police systems in line with Nigeria’s federal arrangement.
To achieve this, he suggested moving policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List through constitutional amendment, thereby empowering states to establish their own police forces under national guidelines.
According to Pedro, such guidelines should address recruitment, promotion, discipline, structure, operational control and welfare of police personnel nationwide.
He also called for a clear demarcation of functions and jurisdiction between federal and state police to ensure cooperation and prevent conflict.
Among other recommendations, Pedro proposed the re-establishment of the Nigeria Police Council and State Police Service Commissions to set uniform standards for recruitment, appointment, promotion and discipline.
He further suggested that states should determine the number of officers they require based on their financial capacity, while governors should appoint state commissioners of police upon the recommendation of the State Police Service Commission and approval of the State House of Assembly.
Pedro maintained that with the right legal and institutional safeguards, state policing could significantly strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture and bring law enforcement closer to the communities it is meant to serve.
