Nigeria's Peoples Redemption Party has come out strongly against plans to establish state police under President Tinubu's administration. The opposition outfit says the government lacks the credibility needed to push through such a major institutional reform.
Party National Chairman Hakeem Baba-Ahmed issued the statement on Thursday. He flagged what he called suspicious efforts to create state police despite Nigeria's ongoing security crisis.
According to Baba-Ahmed, the current administration has bungled management of existing security agencies. How can it be trusted with new ones, he questioned implicitly.
"The APC administration has failed to manage our security structure and institutions. Its plan to engineer the emergence of state police is suspicious and it should be rejected," the statement read.
PRP officials acknowledge Nigeria needs sweeping reforms to its security and law enforcement apparatus. But they insist now isn't the time, under this government.
Baba-Ahmed argued the decision should wait until after next year's general election. He said voters must first restore confidence in Nigeria's democratic institutions through that exercise.
"The forthcoming election should be a threshold which should be crossed with credibility and popular acclaim before the nation decides on important issues such as state police structures," he noted.
Rather than reshape police structures, Baba-Ahmed urged Tinubu's team to tackle insecurity directly. Citizens face what he termed a "nightmare" of violence and crime across the country.
PRP wants the Federal Government to focus on concrete security improvements. Better intelligence work, faster response times, and enhanced protection matter more than institutional tinkering, party leaders contend.
Debate over state police has intensified recently among Nigerian policymakers and analysts. Supporters say localized policing improves intelligence gathering and quick responses to threats in specific communities.
Critics worry state governors would weaponize state police for partisan political ends. They point to Nigeria's history of institutional abuse at the state level.
PRP's position reflects broader unease in opposition circles about Tinubu's reform agenda. Many see state police as a power grab dressed in security language.
The party says credibility must come before structural change in Nigeria's institutions. Until then, new police arrangements risk becoming tools of oppression rather than public safety.
