President Tinubu Declares State Police “Unavoidable” to Combat Banditry

President Bola Tinubu has firmly declared the establishment of state police an unavoidable necessity to strengthen national security. He made the statement on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during a meeting with a delegation from Katsina State, which has recently faced a surge in bandit attacks.

The President directed security agencies to immediately reassess their strategies in Katsina and revealed plans to deploy advanced military equipment, including drones, and enhance the capacity of local forest guards.

“The security challenges that we are facing are surmountable,” Tinubu stated. “Yes, we have porous borders. We inherited weaknesses that could have been addressed earlier. It is a challenge that we must fix, and we are facing it.”

He provided specific instructions, saying, “I have today directed all the security agencies to energise further and look at the strategies. We have approved the additional acquisition of drones… I am reviewing all the aspects of security; I have to create state police. We are looking at that holistically.”

Emphasizing his resolve, the President added, “We will defeat insecurity. We must protect our children, our people, our livelihood, our places of worship, and our recreational spaces. They can’t intimidate us.” He also ordered that he receive daily updates on the security operations in the state.

The initiative for state policing gained momentum in February 2024 when the federal government formed a committee to study its framework.

During the visit, Governor Dikko Radda expressed his gratitude for the President’s consistent support. “Mr President, I would like to thank you very much, and I want to say before our elders that there was never a time I came to the President with a request that he rejected,” Radda said.

Other delegates, including former Governor Aminu Masari and Ibrahim Ida, the Wazirin of Katsina, commended Tinubu for honoring the legacy of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari, Tinubu assured, “didn’t hand over a defeated country, a battered political structure, but a legacy of success.”

Ida also urged the federal government to prioritize upgrading the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport and intensifying security in southern Katsina.