Southern Governors Declare State Police ‘Non-Negotiable’ for Nigeria’s Survival

Governors from Nigeria’s southern states have issued a unified and decisive demand for the establishment of state police, declaring it a “non-negotiable” element of true federalism and an urgent necessity for tackling the region’s escalating insecurity.

The position was announced on Wednesday during a high-level meeting of the Southern Governors’ Forum hosted by Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun at Iperu-Remo. The gathering featured key leaders including Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Abia’s Alex Otti, Ekiti’s Biodun Oyebanji, Ebonyi’s Francis Nwifuru, Enugu’s Peter Mbah, Anambra’s Charles Soludo, and deputy governors from Osun, Edo, Oyo and Cross River states. In his opening speech, Abiodun warned that the country’s worsening security challenges—from mass school abductions to coordinated attacks on rural communities—have shown that “no region is immune to organised criminality or violent extremism.” He praised President Bola Tinubu for swift rescue efforts in recent kidnappings but stressed that long-term stability depends on structural reform. According to him, Nigeria’s centralised policing system is overstretched and inadequate for today’s threats, insisting that state police is the only path to effective grassroots security. The forum’s discussions centred on decentralising the country's security architecture, boosting intelligence-sharing among states, strengthening early-warning systems, and improving protection for schools, farmlands, borders and critical infrastructure. The governors also highlighted the role of traditional rulers as key connectors to the grassroots and called for deeper collaboration between royal institutions, local communities and security agencies to build proactive defence networks. At the end of the meeting, the governors adopted a unified resolution demanding the urgent constitutional creation of state police, describing it as essential for a “policing system closer to the people, more responsive to local realities, and better equipped to address rapidly evolving threats. They pledged to push the agenda at the national level while implementing joint security frameworks across southern states, including community-vigilance structures and regional surveillance corridors. The renewed push comes as Nigeria battles rising kidnapping, banditry and violent extremism that have strained federal resources. Analysts say the collective southern stance may intensify national debate on policing reform, despite reservations from some northern stakeholders. While the forum did not announce a timeline for next steps, sources indicate that the governors are preparing to lobby the National Assembly to accelerate the constitutional amendment process.