June 18, 2026
Ezekwesili
By OBIAGELI EZEKWESILI
The Tinubu administration’s renewed push for state police has reopened one of the most consequential public-policy debates in Nigeria’s democratic history. The proposal has gained momentum because it speaks directly to a painful reality confronting millions of Nigerians. The country’s security architecture is failing.
Terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, violent extremism, communal conflicts, and organised criminality have overwhelmed the capacity of a centrally controlled police force to secure lives and property across a country of more than 230 million people. For many citizens, therefore, state police appears to be an obvious and long-overdue solution.
