The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria has warned against creating state police, calling it a wrong move.
The group urged government to instead strengthen the underfunded and overstretched Nigeria Police Force.
The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has cautioned the Federal Government against establishing state police, describing the plan as a wrong step that will not resolve the country’s deep-rooted security challenges.
In a statement released Thursday in Kaduna, NYCN National President, Isah Abubakar, argued that the proposal risks worsening existing issues such as poor funding, inadequate manpower, weak welfare packages, outdated equipment, and alleged corruption across the security sector.
According to him, focusing on state police amounts to wasting energy on the wrong solution. He insisted that government attention should instead be directed toward strengthening the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), which he said is already struggling with insufficient budgets, lack of modern logistics, and operational shortcomings.
Abubakar explained that if insecurity is to be tackled effectively, reforms must include large-scale recruitment and improved welfare for personnel in the NPF, rather than expanding structures with fresh agencies. He warned that handing police powers to state governments could lead to political intimidation and human rights abuses, stressing that Nigerian politicians are not yet ready to manage such authority without federal checks.
He further noted that while some states have advocated for regional outfits to address local threats, those arguments do not outweigh the dangers of politicizing law enforcement. Instead, he urged the federal government to set up a committee to overhaul the NPF, pointing out that the country of over 200 million citizens is currently policed by fewer than 300,000 officers.
The NYCN president recommended building a force of at least five million officers to reflect modern realities and population size. He maintained that history would vindicate their stance, insisting the best path forward is a stronger, properly resourced federal police rather than fragmented state-controlled agencies.
President Bola Tinubu had earlier this week revealed that the creation of state police was being considered as part of wider security reforms.
