Nigeria: State Police Won't End Insecurity, Tackle Poverty First - ADP Chieftain Tells Tinubu

What the report says

A United States-based entrepreneur and opposition Action Democratic Party chieftain, Chris Emejuru, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be cautious about the planned introduction of state policing in Nigeria. The comments were reported by Leadership and distributed by AllAfrica. Emejuru argued that while state police may have potential, it would not by itself resolve the country’s wider security problems.

According to the report, Emejuru said poverty should be treated as the more urgent issue. He said insecurity would ease more significantly if government devoted as much attention to reducing poverty as it has to the state-policing proposal. He also linked desperation among young people to unemployment and lack of opportunity, saying that social and economic conditions play a major role in insecurity.

The statement was presented as a warning that any state-policing reform should include safeguards so it is not misused. Emejuru, who was described as Rivers State-born, also suggested that efforts such as broader economic empowerment, support for vulnerable people and improved access to livelihoods would be more effective in the long run.

The piece reflects an ongoing debate in Nigeria over whether decentralizing policing would improve security. More broadly, it highlights the argument that insecurity is tied not only to armed violence but also to poverty, joblessness and weak economic prospects.