The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has urged President Bola Tinubu and the 10th National Assembly to resist mounting pressure for the creation of state Police in Nigeria.
The call followed Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang’s renewed advocacy for state policing at a special court session in Jos to mark the commencement of the 2025/2026 legal year. According to Mutfwang, establishing state Police was necessary in order to address insecurity in Plateau and other parts of the country.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, the Forum’s chairman and member of the APC Campaign Council in the 2023 elections, Saleh Zazzaga, warned that the creation of state Police could be risky and counter-productive.
The Forum said it was concerned that state Police might be misused by state authorities, could deepen marginalization of minority groups, and might increase the risk of political repression in some states.
It also cautioned that in secular and religiously diverse regions such as the North-Central, arrangements for state policing – if misapplied – could negatively affect minority faiths and cultural practices.
Describing the proposal as a “dangerous path,” the Forum said it could undermine democratic norms, criminalise dissent and threaten national unity, and urged President Tinubu, lawmakers, civil society organisations (CSOs) and Nigerians at large to reject the idea.
