SDP presidential candidate Adebayo advocates for the FG, state and LG police systems

Adewale Adebayo, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party has supported decentralization of the police force, arguing that Nigeria’s federal structure should allow the Federal Government, states and local governments to establish their own police forces.

He spoke at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday.

Adebayo said the issue should be seen as a constitutional and federalism question, not just a political slogan.

“It is a legal principle that Nigeria’s sovereignty is shared between federal, state and local. Legislative powers include powers, or should include powers, to the police,” he said.

He believes that every level of government that has the authority to make laws must also have the capacity to create a police force to enforce those laws.

“If I can make laws, I should be able to create a police force to enforce my laws. No level of government should have to rely on another level to enforce its own laws,” Adebayo said.

When asked directly whether he supported state policing, he responded that he favored policing at all levels.

“I support police at every level of government. Federal, its own police. States, its own police. Local governments, its own police. Because that’s how federalism should be,” he said.

Adebayo described police decentralization as an inherent right of the various levels of government, and not as a concession from the Federal Government.

He also blamed the military government’s centralized police structure, alleging that military edicts abolished previous police arrangements and produced a constitution that was insufficiently federalist.

Asked about the current proposal to create a state police, Adebayo described it as a “trick” by President Bola Tinubu.