PRP rejects state police, says Tinubu lacks credibility to drive reform

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has opposed ongoing efforts by the federal government to establish state police, arguing that the administration of President Bola Tinubu lacks the credibility and public trust required to undertake such a far-reaching security reform.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the party’s National Chairman, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, expressed concern over what he described as attempts by the federal government to push ahead with the creation of state police despite persistent security challenges across the country.

BusinessDay reports that the Senate on Wednesday passed a landmark constitutional amendment bill establishing state police services across Nigeria, a major step towards decentralising policing and addressing the country’s growing security challenges.

The proposed law titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for the Establishment of State Police and Related Matters 2026 ” was approved during plenary presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

While acknowledging the need for comprehensive reforms of Nigeria’s security architecture, the PRP said the current administration had failed to effectively manage existing security institutions and therefore could not be trusted with a major restructuring of the policing system.

According to the party, Nigeria urgently requires a broad review and overhaul of its security and law enforcement framework to address worsening insecurity and rebuild public confidence in state institutions.

“The APC administration has failed to manage our security structure and institutions. Its plan to engineer the emergence of state police is suspicious and should be rejected,” the statement said.

The opposition party argued that any decision on state police should be postponed until after the next general election, which it said should first test the credibility of the country’s democratic process and the confidence of Nigerians in government institutions.

“The forthcoming election should be a threshold 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 tackling insecurity and protecting lives and property rather than pursuing structural changes to the policing system.

It called for intensified efforts to end the security crisis and ease the hardship facing millions of Nigerians.

The debate over state police has gained momentum in recent weeks, with supporters arguing that decentralised policing would enhance local intelligence gathering and improve responses to security threats.

Critics, however, warn that state-controlled police forces could be abused by governors and other political actors for partisan purposes.