BREAKING: TYF Welcomes Senate Passage of State Police Bill, Calls for Swift Implementation of Security Decentralisation

Think Yoruba First has welcomed the historic passage of the State Police Bill by the Nigerian Senate, describing it as one of the most significant steps towards addressing Nigeria’s persistent security challenges and correcting the weaknesses of an over-centralised policing system.

In a press statement, TYF noted that the Senate’s approval acknowledges what millions of Nigerians have known for years: that a single federal police structure cannot adequately secure a country as large, diverse, and complex as Nigeria. The rise of terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, and communal violence has exposed the limitations of a policing system often too distant from the communities it is expected to protect.

TYF particularly welcomed the provisions empowering states to establish and manage their own police formations, including the appointment of State Police Commissioners under constitutional and regulatory safeguards. This decentralised approach will allow states to develop security strategies tailored to their unique realities.

The organisation emphasised that indigenous communities across Yorubaland and other parts of Nigeria have suffered from security threats that local people often understand better than distant authorities. A properly structured State Police system, TYF argued, would improve intelligence gathering, enable faster response to emergencies, strengthen accountability, enhance crime prevention, and improve the protection of schools, farms, businesses, and highways.

While supporting the bill, TYF also stressed the importance of strong constitutional safeguards to prevent political abuse, ensuring that State Police operate under clear legal frameworks, professional standards, independent oversight, and strict respect for human rights.

TYF called on the House of Representatives, State Houses of Assembly, traditional institutions, and civil society organisations to support the completion of the reform process, stating that the era of expecting distant authorities alone to secure local communities must end.