Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu has inaugurated a Committee on State Policing, describing the initiative as a major step toward reinforcing Nigeria’s internal security system and promoting community-focused law enforcement.
At the inauguration in Abuja, Disu said the task before the committee was “significant and timely,” stressing that Nigeria’s changing security landscape requires “innovative thinking, strategic collaboration and bold reforms to make policing more responsive to local realities.”
He said the panel would design a practical framework for implementing state policing without weakening the national security structure. Its mandate includes reviewing policing models within and outside Nigeria, evaluating community security demands, identifying potential risks, and proposing an operational structure for establishing and coordinating state police systems.
The committee is also expected to address key issues such as recruitment processes, training standards, funding, accountability, and oversight mechanisms to safeguard professionalism and public confidence.
“If properly designed and implemented, state policing could bring law enforcement closer to the people, enhance local knowledge of security dynamics, and enable quicker responses to emerging threats within communities,” Disu said.
He added that decentralising certain responsibilities would allow state and local authorities to tackle security concerns more effectively, while the Federal Government focuses on broader national priorities. “The vision we seek is one of synergy, not competition; partnership, not duplication,” he stated.
The panel, chaired by Prof. Olu Ogunsakin, has four weeks to submit its report. Other members include CP Emmanuel Ojukwu (Rtd), CP Bode Ojajuni, DCP Okebuchi Ogora, ACP Ikechukwu Okafor, CSP Tolulope Ipinmisho, among others.
Addressing concerns that governors could politicise state police structures, the IGP assured that such issues would be carefully examined, noting that Nigeria would study global models of state policing.
Separately, Disu convened a strategic meeting in Abuja attended by senior officers of the Nigeria Police Force, including Deputy Inspectors-General who served under former IGP Olukayode Adeolu Egbetokun.
Those present included DIGs Frank Mba, Sadiq Abubakar, Basil Idgwu, Bzigu Kwazhi, Gumel, Fayoade and Adeola Hamzat.
Sources indicated that the Police Service Commission has yet to determine the status of the affected senior officers, many of whom outrank the new IGP. Traditionally, officers senior to a newly appointed police chief retire once a junior is elevated above them, but no official announcement had been made as of the time of the meeting.
