The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), has expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s proposal to create state police, arguing that Nigeria’s current centralized policing system is insufficient to tackle the country’s escalating security challenges.
In a statement, Pedro endorsed the president’s call for a constitutional framework that would allow states willing and financially able to establish and manage their own police forces. He noted that many security threats—such as banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, human trafficking, ritual killings, cultism, herdsmen-farmer clashes, communal conflicts, and armed robbery—are localised and require policing systems closer to affected communities.
Pedro argued that the Nigeria Police Force, operating under a single federal structure, is overstretched and unable to adequately cover the country’s vast territory. He highlighted that the centralised system’s limitations have contributed to the persistence of local crimes and exposed structural weaknesses in managing security across Nigeria’s diverse states and local governments.
Recalling Nigeria’s First Republic, Pedro noted that state and regional policing arrangements are not new and historically existed in the country. While acknowledging concerns that state police could be abused for political purposes, he maintained that such fears should not prevent the initiative. Instead, he called for constitutional safeguards to ensure accountability and proper oversight.
Pedro proposed a unified policing system that integrates federal and state forces in line with Nigeria’s federal structure. He suggested moving policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List through constitutional amendment, giving states the authority to operate police forces under national guidelines.
He emphasized that the guidelines should cover recruitment, promotion, discipline, operational control, and welfare, while clearly defining the roles and jurisdiction of federal and state forces to prevent conflicts. Pedro also recommended re-establishing the Nigeria Police Council and State Police Service Commissions to set uniform standards. States would determine their police strength based on financial capacity, and governors would appoint state commissioners of police on the advice of the State Police Service Commission with approval from the State House of Assembly.
Pedro concluded that, with proper legal and institutional safeguards, state policing could strengthen Nigeria’s security framework and bring law enforcement closer to communities, improving responsiveness and effectiveness.
