State Police, My Advice For President Tinubu, State Governors
BY DONALD INWALOMHE
DURING Nigeria’s First Republic (1960–1966), regional police forces—such as the yan doka in the North and local authorities in the West—contributed to the escalation of the civil war by acting as highly partisan tools for regional politicians. Their politically motivated enforcement, coupled with regional bias during electoral crises and the 1966 pogroms, dismantled citizens’ trust in national security and accelerated the nation’s slide into war.
Regional police accelerated the crisis in several ways: Electoral Violence and Partisan Repression: Under the First Republic, regional premiers and politicians controlled local police Forces were frequently used to suppress political opposition, rig elections, and silence critics, destroying the rule of law and fueling widespread outrage that culminated in the 1962 Western Region crisis and the 1964/1965 election violence.
Failure to Protect Minorities: During the 1966 anti-Igbo pogroms, local regional police in the Northern Region stood by or tacitly supported the rioters. Because these forces answered to regional authorities rather than a neutral, centralized command, they did not intervene to halt violence against civilians, forcing mass displacements. President Tinubu should look beyond bandits and 2027 elections.
There’s no body that is considering the funding and equipping the state police in the current bill.
Inwalomhe Donald, Researcher, Justice Research Centre.
