Nigeria Needs 554,353 Personnel for State Police

Nigeria will require an additional 554,353 personnel to adequately staff the proposed state police system, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has said.

Abiodun, who chairs the Southern Governors’ Forum and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum committee on state police, disclosed this on Thursday while delivering the keynote address at a colloquium marking the posthumous 70th birthday of former Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State.

The event, themed “Fundamentals and Governance of State Policing: Towards a New Architecture for National Security in Nigeria,” examined the proposed decentralisation of policing and the safeguards required to make it effective.

According to Abiodun, data from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, based on a benchmark of one police officer to every 414 citizens, indicated that the country would need 554,353 additional personnel. He said the recruitment could be spread over three years, requiring approximately 184,784 recruits annually.

Abiodun argued that Nigeria could no longer depend entirely on a centralised policing structure to address its security challenges. He said officers familiar with local languages, communities and terrain would be better positioned to gather intelligence and prevent crime.

However, he warned that differences in the financial capacity of states could undermine the proposed system if poorer states lacked the resources to recruit, train and equip officers.

He disclosed that only five states, Lagos, Rivers, Ogun, Enugu and the Federal Capital Territory, accounted for 61.6 per cent of internally generated revenue cited in the presentation. He therefore called for a constitutional State Police Take-Off Fund to provide equal-access grants, needs-based support and funding tied to operational standards.

The governor also stressed the importance of transparent recruitment, professional training, adequate welfare, independent complaints mechanisms and legislative oversight to prevent political interference and human rights abuses.

He said state police should complement rather than replace the Nigeria Police Force, with federal officers focusing on national security, terrorism and interstate crime, while state officers handle community intelligence, crime prevention and enforcement within their jurisdictions.

Abiodun linked the proposed reform to economic development, arguing that insecurity discourages investment, disrupts farming and threatens livelihoods. He also credited Akeredolu with advancing the debate through his role in establishing the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, in 2020.

Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and other speakers at the colloquium also called for a professional, accountable policing structure that balances local responsiveness with national cohesion and the protection of citizens’ rights.