President Bola Tinubu has called on the House of Representatives to ensure that the proposed constitutional amendment paving the way for the creation of state police includes robust safeguards to prevent potential misuse by state governors.
The President made the appeal on Friday night during an interfaith breaking of fast with members of the Green Chamber at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The event marked the third time in one week that Tinubu has publicly advocated for the constitutional change required to establish police forces at the sub-national level.
Addressing the lawmakers, Tinubu stressed that the creation of state police must be approached with caution and structured to avoid repeating past mistakes. He warned that the amendment should not result in “a straight free fall for everybody,” emphasizing the need for built-in checks and balances drawn from historical experience.
“We just have to work together to put pressure on ourselves to accept the need for state police. Amend it, not a straight free fall for everybody, tie it in a way that will not be abused like in the past,” the President stated.
He stressed the importance of learning from history to inform present decisions, telling the assembled legislators, “A good legislature must learn from the past to cure the present. I’m ready to work with you.”
Tinubu further justified his push for the reform by highlighting the localized nature of Nigeria’s security challenges. “You know more than anybody else that security is local, and if security is local, we just have to work together,” he said, urging collaborative effort between the executive and legislative branches to realize the initiative.
