Oyo Police Ready for State Police as CP Olugbenga Says He Is Accountable to the People
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, CP Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga, has expressed the Oyo Police command’s readiness for the proposed establishment of state police in Nigeria, describing the initiative as a welcome development and stressing that he is accountable to the people of Oyo State.
Olugbenga stated this during a gathering at the International Conference Centre in Ibadan, where he spoke on the proposed constitutional recognition of state police and its relationship with the existing federal policing structure.
“Officially and constitutionally, we are expecting to have state police very soon,” the commissioner said.
He noted that state-level policing functions were already being performed informally by various law enforcement agencies operating under state governments.
“If you look at it around, you will notice that we have been having that informally. It’s not something that is far-fetched,” he said.
According to him, the proposed arrangement would establish a constitutionally recognised police structure that would operate alongside the federal police.
“But now that we want to have a constitutionally recognised police that work along with the federal police, it’s a welcome idea,” Olugbenga added.
Expressing support for the initiative, the commissioner said, “The more the merrier.”
Addressing concerns about the accountability of police commissioners under a state policing system, Olugbenga said his position as Commissioner of Police in Oyo State carried a responsibility to the people of the state.
“As a police commissioner in Oyo State, I’m accountable to the people of Oyo State,” he said.
He also expressed concern about narratives surrounding the proposed system, particularly suggestions about how police commissioners would relate to state governments.
Olugbenga reiterated that his responsibility as the state’s police commissioner included accountability to the people of Oyo State.
The proposed establishment of state police remains a subject of national discussion, with debates focusing on how the system would complement the federal police, improve local security and ensure accountability while preventing possible political interference.
Although the commissioner expressed optimism about the proposed reform, his remarks did not amount to a formal announcement that the Oyo State Police Command had begun operational preparations for the implementation of state police.