A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Nigeria Democratic Congress, Buba Galadima, has alleged that President Bola Tinubu and state governors are pushing for the creation of state police in order to use them for political purposes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television’s Morning Show, Galadima claimed that the proposed state police structure could worsen insecurity in the country rather than solve it.
He questioned the effectiveness of state policing, arguing that if the Nigerian Police Force and the military have struggled to address insecurity, subnational police formations would not perform better.
“Nobody ever conceived the idea of state police to sort out our security challenge. If the Nigerian police and the Nigerian military cannot solve the security situation in the country, I wonder how the state police would be able to do that,” he said.
Galadima further alleged that
the push for state police is politically motivated ahead of elections.
“All that we know is that the President and governors are looking for state police before the election so that they use them as political thugs to attack the opposition, disarm the election, and kill democracy,” he said.
He also referenced historical concerns about the former native authority policing system, claiming it was abused during election periods to detain political opponents on minor or fabricated allegations.
He warned that a state-controlled policing system could deepen ethnic and religious divisions in the country, arguing that in some states it could lead to exclusion of certain groups from participation in security and public life.
Galadima adde
d that such a system could threaten national unity and limit constitutional freedoms for Nigerians living outside their ethnic or regional origins.
Samuel Agada is a writer and media contributor from Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. He is a graduate of Biochemistry from the University of Jos and a former banker with GTBank and FCMB. A prolific writer, songwriter, educator, and Gospel preacher, he is passionate about informing, inspiring, and impacting society through his work.