Ismaeel Aleem
The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has thrown its full weight behind the recent call by Southwest governors for President Bola Tinubu to expedite the creation of state police, declaring that the reform is not merely timely but “long overdue” in the face of escalating insecurity across Nigeria.
In a statement signed today by the chapter’s Publicity Secretary, Seye Oladejo, the party praised the governors’ position as “forthright, pragmatic, and demonstrative of genuine leadership”.
He argued that only “enemies of peace” would oppose the establishment of properly regulated state police forces.
For years, the Southwest has led the campaign for decentralised, community-based security architecture, Oladejo noted, citing the region’s pioneering Amotekun corps and sustained investment in local intelligence and rapid-response capabilities as proof that localised policing delivers results.
“The governors’ unified stance aligns perfectly with the progressive philosophy of our party: security is most effective when it is local,” the statement read.
“President Tinubu has repeatedly demonstrated the political will to modernise Nigeria’s internal security framework.”
This call simply reinforces his existing commitment to a responsive, people-centred, and technology-driven ecosystem.”
The Lagos APC emphasised that Nigeria’s multi-layered security crises from terrorism and banditry in the North to kidnapping and urban crime in the South demand solutions beyond the capacity of a centrally controlled police force.
“State police, professionally regulated and federally coordinated, will bring security closer to the grassroots, sharpen intelligence gathering, and enable real-time crime prevention,” Oladejo asserted.
He hailed the Southwest’s track record, declaring that Amotekun and complementary initiatives have already shown that “decentralised security works”.
Establishing formal state police forces, he said, represents the logical and inevitable next step.
Reaffirming unqualified support for both the President’s Renewed Hope security agenda and the governors’ collective position, the Lagos APC urged all stakeholders nationwide to rally behind Tinubu in delivering what it described as “a safer, stronger, and more secure Nigeria”.
“The security of our people is non-negotiable,” the party concluded. “The hour for state police has come indeed, it is long overdue.”
