SMBLF Supports Tinubu's State Police Initiative

On Tuesday, the Southern Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) expressed strong support for President Bola Tinubu's initiative to establish state police in Nigeria, deeming it a necessary solution to the ongoing security challenges in the country. Following a three-hour meeting, leaders from various groups, including Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the Niger Delta Forum, convened at the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) secretariat in Maitama.

In a communiqué read by Oba Oladipo Olaitan, the forum emphasized the urgent need for state and community policing, advocating for constitutional amendments to facilitate this. They highlighted the importance of creating a 12-member committee of security experts to contribute to the establishment of state police, which they believe will help govern at the federal and state levels and address the significant number of ungoverned territories in Nigeria.

The SMBLF commended the federal government's efforts to combat insecurity while calling for an immediate halt to the reintegration of deradicalized terrorists into society.