The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has faulted moves by the Federal Government to establish state police, arguing that the President Bola Tinubu administration does not enjoy the confidence required to implement such a far-reaching security reform.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the party’s National Chairman, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, expressed reservations over what he described as the administration’s push for state police despite persistent concerns over the country’s security challenges.
While acknowledging the need to reform Nigeria’s security architecture, the PRP maintained that the current administration has not demonstrated the capacity to effectively manage the existing security institutions.
According to the party, the country requires a comprehensive overhaul of its security and law enforcement framework to tackle worsening insecurity and rebuild public confidence in key institutions.
However, it insisted that introducing state police under the present administration would be inappropriate, describing the proposal as questionable.
“The APC administration has failed to manage our security structure and institutions. Its plan to engineer the emergence of state police is suspicious and it should be rejected,” the statement said.
The opposition party further argued that any decision on establishing state police should be postponed until after the next general election, saying the credibility of the electoral process should first be tested.
“The forthcoming election should be a threshold which should be crossed with credibility and popular acclaim before the nation decides on important issues such as state police structures,” Baba-Ahmed stated.
The PRP urged the Federal Government to prioritise efforts aimed at improving security across the country and ensuring the protection of lives and property instead of pursuing structural reforms to the policing system.
It also called on the administration to intensify measures to end the prevailing insecurity and address what it described as the “nightmare” confronting many Nigerians.
Debate over the establishment of state police has intensified in recent weeks, with supporters arguing that decentralised policing would strengthen intelligence gathering and improve responses to local security threats. Opponents, however, warn that such a system could be exploited by state governments for political purposes.
