Professor Amos Oyesoji Aremu of the Department of Counseling and Human Development Studies, University of Ibadan has called for the establishment of state police and improved funding for the Nigeria Police Force to address the country’s worsening security challenges.
Speaking at the fourth memorial lecture organized by the Ogbomoso Community Foundation (OCF) in honor of the late Chief Sunday Adewusi, Nigeria’s fifth Inspector General of Police, Aremu argued that Nigeria’s internal security problems require a structural overhaul of the police system.
Delivering a lecture titled “Failure of Internal Security: Dissecting the Historical and Systemic Dysfunctionality of the Nigeria Police Force”, the University of Ibadan professor highlighted the need to amend the constitution to accommodate state police.
He described the Nigeria Police as an institution historically designed as “a tool of oppression and repression” and stressed that the current structure is ineffective in addressing contemporary security threats.
“The Nigeria Police Force, as currently constituted, needs to be restructured to include sub-national policing,” he said, insisting that decentralizing the police would make it more efficient.
Aremu decried the high rate of terrorism and insecurity, stating that violence has led to the deaths of approximately 700,000 people and displaced 2.5 million individuals. He also emphasized the dangers of “ungoverned spaces” across Nigeria, which he described as breeding grounds for terrorists and criminals.
He argued that national security should no longer be solely under the control of the federal police, citing the success of regional security outfits like Amotekun in the Southwest and Hisbah in Kano State. He also noted that even northern governors and other stakeholders now support the call for state police.
The scholar urged the federal government to act swiftly on the proposal, referencing President Bola Tinubu’s 2024 security meeting with state governors, where the issue was discussed. He further called for better police training, welfare, accountability, transparency, and the adoption of modern technology.
Supporting the call for the establishment of the Sunday Adewusi Centre for Police Studies at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Aremu described Adewusi as one of Nigeria’s most impactful IGPs. He praised Adewusi’s achievements, including the establishment of the Mobile Police Force (MOPOL) and improvements in police welfare and discipline.
Several dignitaries at the event backed the call for state police and community policing. HRH Reuben Adesina Amao, a retired DSS Assistant Director-General, stressed the need for public vigilance and intelligence sharing with security agencies.
Notable attendees included former military governor Gen. Oladayo Popoola (rtd), Rear Admiral Jacob Ajani (rtd), Prof. Ayodeji Omole (Chairman, LAUTECH Governing Council), LAUTECH Vice-Chancellor Prof. ROM Kalilu, Dr. Saka Balogun, and retired Justice Afolabi Adeniran. Also present were traditional rulers and members of the late Adewusi’s family.
The biennial lecture will hold again in 2027.
Chief Sunday Adewusi, who was conferred with the title Asiwaju of Ogbomosoland in 2003, passed away on January 26, 2016, at the age of 79. A revered figure in Nigerian policing history, he is remembered as a national icon.
