Shehu Sani: State Police is Mirage, Recipe for Anarchy

•Says it will be used by govs to persecute opposition, harass ‘non indigenes’, rig elections, counter federal police in cases of conflict of interest between FG and state

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A social critic and former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has described the proposed establishment of state police in the country as an illusion and recipe for anarchy. Sani stated this in a post on his verified X handle, last week, after the federal government hinted on the likelihood of embracing state police as solution to the rising insecurity in the country.

The consideration of state police was the outcome of an emergency meeting between President Bola Tinubu and governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting was sequel to the recent hike in food prices, economic hardship, and insecurity nationwide.

Reacting to the consideration of state police, Sani said he was worried that it might turn out to be an armed wing of the ruling party in each state.

He stated, “The state police will be used by the governors to persecute the opposition, to harass ‘non indigenes’, to rig elections and to counter the federal police in cases of conflict of interest between the federal government and the state.

“Most of the state ruling party thugs will be recruited into the state police.”

Tinubu and the governors had agreed to establish multi-level police in the country as part of measures to check the rising wave of insecurity nationwide. This was one of the six highpoints of the emergency meeting summoned by the president.

Specifically, Tinubu approved the establishment of a committee comprising governors and representatives of the federal government to, among other things, explore modalities for establishing state police.

The president and the governors also discussed the possibility of improving the numerical strength of forest rangers and train them so that they could keep the forests and borders safe.

Following the spike in insecurity across the country, there were calls for the establishment of state police, as practiced in the First Republic before it was abolished by the military.

Currently, many states have vigilante groups. While the South-west zone has Amotekun, the South-east zone has Ebube-Agu.