Deliberations for the creation of state police are off the agenda as the National Economic Council (NEC) meets on Thursday April 24, multiple sources in the Presidency confirmed to late Sunday.
Vice President Kashim Shettima is expected to chair Thursday’s meeting, the second in 2025, at the Council Chamber of Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“The meeting is for the 24th of this month. But state police is not part of the things they will be talking about,” one of the sources with knowledge of the activities of the council confirmed to our correspondent, adding that the NEC secretariat has submitted the details of the next meeting to the Vice President’s office.
Another source added, “The VP is the one who decides what goes in there (the agenda). But as of now (Sunday night), there is no talk about the state police on what I saw. Some are pushing for it to be discussed. But as of now, it is not there.”
Thursday’s meeting comes amid fresh attacks in Plateau, Benue and Enugu states. Since early April, more than 120 locals have been shot, hacked or burnt to death in Plateau State alone, according to Amnesty International and multiple eyewitness accounts.
Relief agencies say the toll is higher, citing coordinated night raids on Bokkos and Bassa that left burnt homes and 3,000 displaced in Plateau. In Benue, at least 56 people were killed in Logo and Gbagir after twin assaults blamed on armed herders.
On February 15, 2024, the Federal Government, alongside the 36 states, began talks expected to culminate in the creation of state police.
This formed part of agreements reached at an emergency meeting between President Bola Tinubu and state governors at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
It followed similar pockets of killings and kidnappings recorded nationwide, hikes in food prices and economic hardship.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who addressed journalists after the meeting, explained that the process was still in its infancy and would only take shape after more deliberations between stakeholders.
“The Federal Government and the state governments are mulling the possibility of setting up state police,” Idris said, adding that “this is still going to be further discussed.”
He explained, “A lot of work must be done in that direction. But if our government and the state governments agree to the necessity of having state police, this is a significant shift.”
Following this, the National Economic Council requested each state to submit detailed reports outlining their positions and plans for implementing state police.
By March 2024, 16 states submitted their reports, with the remaining 20 expected to do so by May of that year. However, the process foot-dragged until December 2024, when all states finally submitted their reports.
At its 147th meeting that month December, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State revealed that the council had received reports from all 36 states (excluding the FCT).
Sani announced, “Today, one of the discussions we had at the NEC meeting was the update on the creation of state police. As you are aware, there was a submission by states toward the establishment of state police.
“Thirty-six states have submitted, minus FCT. FCT is not a state. They explained why they had not submitted it. But 36 states have all submitted their own position on state police.
“From what is available, virtually most of the states are in agreement with the establishment of state police in Nigeria. I want to say here clearly that most of us are in agreement with the establishment of State Police.”
The Kaduna State Governor explained that the consensus stemmed from various security challenges across states.
He cited the vast ungoverned spaces in Nigeria and the acute shortage of security personnel, including the police, army and other relevant agencies, which are unable to cover all areas adequately.
“That is why most of us agreed that the establishment of state police in Nigeria is the way forward toward addressing the problem of insecurity in our own country,” Sani stated.
However, the Council deferred conclusive discussions until January to allow further stakeholder engagement and to compile a comprehensive report at the NEC Secretariat.
Governor Sani explained, “But today, the Council decided to step down the discussion until the next council meeting because we need to come up with a report from the secretariat. And after the report, there will be deliberation at the next NEC meeting, which will likely take place in January.
“Not only that. There was also a resolution in the last NEC meeting, which today the secretariat agreed on, stating that there will be further stakeholder engagement after the panel and deliberation by the members of the NEC.”
However, the council did not sit in January 2025. Sources in the Presidency and the Council, told our correspondent that January 31 was suggested, but this was derailed by an emergency meeting of governors from the Peoples Democratic Party in Asaba, the Delta State capital, that Friday.
One source, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “We had suggested January 31 for the NEC meeting to finalise the discussions not only on state police but other matters as well.
“But the PDP Governors’ are meeting on Friday too. And these governors are part of the council. So, we had no choice but to stand down the NEC meeting.”
At its 146th meeting on November 21, 2024 the Council said it is determined to hasten the process and get its members to submit their reports by November 28, 2024.
Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa who briefed journalists at the time said, “On the issue of State Police today, when the decision was taken, even before it was, the three states in question, one of them (Adamawa) was represented by the Deputy Governor, had earlier made submissions that they presented their report.
“So, that was why NEC could not come out immediately to say ‘A or B,’ but rather give a timeline. And that timeline, as you can see, was very short: one week for them to go and do whatever they are doing so that decisions will be made by the next NEC meeting.
“And, from how they reacted, I’m sure that maybe we have some bureaucracy regarding the submission.”
Stakeholders in favour of state policing argue that a decentralised structure can better tackle region-specific security threats and improve accountability at the local level.
Opponents, however, worry about potential misuse by state governments, which could breed political intimidation and weaken national cohesion.
Despite the consensus among states, finalising any framework requires constitutional amendments and extensive coordination between the FG and states.
A source familiar with the deliberations, who also spoke on condition of anonymity said, “I can tell you that all the states have submitted their reports. FCT is not a state. So, the FCT said that whatever the Federal Government agrees, it will go with it. It can’t submit anything because it’s not a state.
“You know that NEC is not an approving body. It is only meant to advise Mr. President. The thing is slow because of politics. There is a lot of politics involved, that’s why they are not talking about it.
“Look at the issues we are facing today. This is what we need now because of the killings in Plateau and Benue.
“The governors need it now because the states cannot control the police. Even when you want to create a joint task force, those ones still need to get approval from Abuja before they do anything,” the source explained. – Punch.
