Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has expressed confidence that state police will not be misused by sub-national leaders if the enabling legislation is carefully crafted to guard against political interference and abuse.
Sani made the remarks on Saturday during an interview with TVC, following a joint meeting of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council.
At the meeting, northern leaders urged the national assembly to accelerate the passage of a bill that would establish state police.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution by moving policing from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list, allowing both federal and state governments to operate police forces.
While critics warn that state governors might exploit such powers to suppress opposition, supporters argue that a decentralized policing structure would strengthen local responses to security threats.
Responding to concerns raised during the interview—particularly about funding and potential misuse—Sani emphasised that the legislation could be structured to ensure the state police focus solely on combating crime, rather than serving political interests.
Read Also: Iftar dinner: Fubara, Wike, govs, others break fast with Tinubu
He said: “The issue of fears. When you are crafting a law, it depends on the crafters of the law.
“There cannot be any abuse if this law is crafted in such a way that won’t allow governors to abuse it. That is how to address it.
“The crafters of that bill can make it clear that the only focus should be on criminalities not on political issues.
“Let’s relegate the issue of politics and address insecurity.”
The Kaduna governor said without security, states cannot address issues of healthcare, infrastructure, and education.
“The issue of security is very important when we are talking about healthcare, education, and infrastructure,” he said.
“They (infrastructural development) cannot be possible when there is insecurity. Don’t talk about naira and kobo when we are talking about saving the lives of our people. Let’s leave the issues of funding. We must fund it.
“Some states cannot even address the issue of infrastructure because of security problems.”
