Think Yoruba First (TYF) Organisation warmly welcomes the historic passage of the State Police Bill by the Nigerian Senate.
This landmark constitutional reform represents one of the most significant steps towards addressing Nigeria’s persistent security challenges and correcting the long-standing weaknesses of an over-centralised policing system.
The Senate’s approval of the bill acknowledges what millions of Nigerians have known for years: that a single federal police structure cannot adequately secure a country as large, diverse, and complex as Nigeria. The rise of terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, communal violence, and organised criminal activities has exposed the limitations of a policing system that is often too distant from the communities it is expected to protect.
TYF particularly welcomes the provisions empowering states to establish and manage their own police formations, including the appointment of State Police Commissioners under constitutional and regulatory safeguards.
This decentralised approach will allow states to develop security strategies tailored to their unique realities, while the Federal Police continue to focus on terrorism, interstate crimes, organised criminal networks, national security matters, and other federal responsibilities.
For decades, indigenous communities across Yorubaland and other parts of Nigeria have suffered from security threats that local people often understand better than distant authorities. The people who live within communities know their terrain, forests, farmlands, waterways, language, culture, and local security dynamics. They are often the first to identify suspicious movements and emerging threats.
A properly structured State Police system will:
* Improve intelligence gathering through stronger community engagement.
* Enable faster response to criminal activities and security emergencies.
* Strengthen accountability between security agencies and local communities.
* Enhance crime prevention through local knowledge and cultural understanding.
* Reduce bureaucratic delays associated with centralised policing.
* Improve the protection of schools, farms, businesses, highways, and rural communities.
Think Yoruba First has consistently maintained that no meaningful development can occur where people live in constant fear. Security remains the foundation upon which economic growth, education, agriculture, and social stability depend.
While supporting the bill, TYF also emphasises the importance of strong constitutional safeguards to prevent political abuse. State Police must operate under clear legal frameworks, professional standards, independent oversight mechanisms, and strict respect for human rights. The goal must be effective security, not political intimidation.