Nigeria security advocates and church leaders push for state police

Advocates and religious leaders in Nigeria are calling for the establishment of state police to combat persistent insecurity, including kidnapping and violent crime.

At a book launch for Magnus Onyibe’s “The Imperative of State Police in Nigeria” in Abuja, former Chief of Defence Staff General Lucky Irabor addressed the historical context of Nigeria’s security architecture. Irabor argued that the 1966 military interventions were the actions of specific officers rather than a collective institutional decision by the military to seize power.

In a separate development, the Spiritual Advisory Council of Christ Church—comprising leaders from the Anglican, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches—issued a communiqué supporting a dual framework of state and federal police commands. The council stated that a more localized policing system could more effectively address the country’s “seemingly intractable” kidnapping and violent crime issues. This support aligns with ongoing efforts by President Bola Tinubu’s administration and the National Assembly to restructure the nation's policing system.