Makinde Raises Alarm Over Rising Insecurity and Pushes Again for State Police

(Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde. Photo by Seyi Makinde)

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has voiced deep concern over a recent wave of insecurity in the state, describing the situation as one of the most difficult periods he has personally experienced since taking office, and one that has caused significant pain to the people of Oyo State.

Speaking to residents, the governor revealed that students and even teachers had been among those caught up in the crisis, expressing how troubling the development has been for his administration.

He renewed his longstanding push for the establishment of state police, using the current security situation to underscore why such a structure is urgently needed.

Makinde explained that regional security outfits like Amotekun were never intended to be permanent solutions, but were created out of necessity precisely because state governments were denied the authority to set up their own police forces.

He described Amotekun as a stopgap measure introduced to fill a gap that should never have existed in the first place.

The governor directed pointed criticism at the federal government over what he characterized as unnecessary delays on the state policing question, insisting that state assemblies not the Inspector General of Police should be empowered to establish and oversee their own police structures.

He called on the federal government to simply grant state assemblies the legal authority and backing required to bring state police into existence, arguing that the rest would follow naturally once that foundational step is taken.