State Police Will Enhance Community Policing and Intelligence Gathering, Says IGP Disu

The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, has stated that the establishment of state police forces will significantly deepen community policing and improve intelligence gathering across Nigeria.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit at the UN Headquarters in New York, Disu explained that decentralizing the police force will bring security closer to citizens. Under a state-structured system, officers will have a native understanding of the communities they protect, fostering public trust and enabling rapid responses to local security threats.

However, the police chief noted that the initiative is still in its infancy, stressing that full implementation will require extensive consultations, capacity building, and comparative studies from international jurisdictions already practicing decentralized policing.

The proposed State Police Bill aims to move policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List of the Nigerian Constitution, legally empowering state governments to establish and manage their own local law enforcement alongside the federal Nigeria Police Force.

Turning to global security, the Inspector-General highlighted Nigeria’s distinguished record in international peacekeeping, noting that the country remains one of the United Nations’ most dependable contributors. Since its initial deployment to the Congo in 1960, Nigerian security personnel have served with distinction worldwide, making immense sacrifices, including the loss of personnel, to sustain global peace and stability.