State Police Ends ‘Ceremonial’ Role of Governors as Security Chiefs

The Executive Governor of Zamfara State, Dr Dauda Lawal, PhD, has declared that the passage and signing of the State Police Bill by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly will transform governors from mere figureheads into truly empowered Chief Security Officers of their states.Lawal made the remarks on Thursday, July 9, 2026, while speaking as a panellist at the Arise News Town Hall meeting, themed “Building a National Consensus for State Police and National Security,” held at the Thisday Dome in Abuja.During the session, the Zamfara governor laid bare the paradox facing state governors; while constitutionally addressed as chief security officers, they wield no operational control over the security apparatus in their domains.“The chain of command and control structure is not under the governors,” Lawal stated bluntly. “By the time we have state police, we can then bear our names as proper chief security officers of our respective states.”He argued that the reform would not only empower governors but also force them to answer directly to their people on security failures a level of accountability he described as long overdue.Acknowledging widespread scepticism about potential misuse of state police, Lawal moved to assuage those concerns, citing existing state-level security outfits that have operated without resorting to political oppression.“Almost all states have one or more security apparatus in place and none have been used to oppress the opposition or cause mayhem,” he noted.He cited Zamfara’s own homegrown security network, which recruits trusted locals from each local government area, individuals who understand the terrain far better than federal forces. “They are the frontline during any attack in any of the LGAs,” he said.While admitting that “no process is perfect,” Lawal insisted that with time, robust checks and balances and strengthened legal frameworks, the risks of gubernatorial overreach would potentially be effectively neutralised.The governor described the bill’s passage as a “welcoming development” that would fortify Nigeria’s national security architecture and offer a durable antidote to the country’s escalating insecurity crisis.“I strongly believe that state police will go a long way in solving a lot of the challenges,” he concluded.