In the current context of the political agenda in Nigeria, the idea of creating state police forces is causing great controversy. At the heart of this debate, voices are being raised to express concerns about the possibility that these new policing structures will be misused for political purposes by governors.
Senator Sani, through a press release on his Twitter account, underlined his apprehensions about the potentially abusive use of this new security system to serve the interests of governors, at the risk of endangering democracy and civil liberties.
He warns against the possibility of instrumentalization of the state police for the purposes of persecution of the opposition, harassment of “non-natives”, electoral fraud and confrontation with the federal police in the event of conflict of interests between the federal government and the state.
The senator also highlights the risk of seeing partisan elements recruited into the state police, thus compromising its integrity and its mission of protecting the population.
This critical stance comes following a meeting held on Thursday, February 15, 2024 in Abuja, bringing together President Bola Tinubu and state governors to discuss pressing national security issues. Agreement was reached on the need to create state police forces as a solution to strengthening security arrangements in the country.
In this changing context, it is essential to remain vigilant regarding the possible excesses and deviations that these new state police institutions could experience, and to ensure that they truly serve the general interest and not particular interests.