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

Adewale Adebayo, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, has argued for a decentralized policing system, suggesting that Nigeria's federal structure should permit the Federal Government, states, and local governments to maintain their own police forces. During the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Adebayo emphasized that this should be addressed as a constitutional and federalism issue, rather than a political slogan.

According to Adebayo, the division of sovereignty among federal, state, and local governments implies that each level should possess the authority to legislate and enforce law through its own policing capabilities. He contends that if a government level has the power to create laws, it should also possess the means to establish a police force to uphold those laws, without relying on another level of government for enforcement.

When directly questioned about his stance on state police, Adebayo expressed his support for policing at all governmental levels - federal, state, and local. He firmly believes that this approach aligns with the principles of federalism. Adebayo further characterized decentralized policing as an inherent right for different governmental levels, rather than a concession made by the Federal Government.

He also attributed the centralization of the policing structure to military rule, claiming that military decrees abolished previous policing arrangements and resulted in a constitution that was not genuinely federalist.

Regarding the current proposal for state police, Adebayo dismissed it as a "trick" by President Bola Tinubu, implying that it is a deceptive tactic rather than a legitimate proposal.