KANO — Senator Sani Hanga, representing Kano Central Senatorial District, has explained his strong opposition to the creation of state police, warning that the move would hand excessive power to state governors and endanger Nigeria’s democracy.
Speaking to journalists at his constituency office in Kano, Hanga said state police would be used by governors to intimidate political opponents and silence dissenting voices. He insisted the proposal, if implemented, could plunge many states into crisis.
Citing the Emirship tussle in Kano State, the senator argued that the situation could have degenerated into civil war if a state-controlled police force had existed.
“If there is a state police, there would have been a civil war in Kano. I’m telling you as a politician. There would have been a civil war,” he said.
Hanga also dismissed the recent support for state police by the governors of 19 northern states, describing the endorsement as a product of panic, fear and desperation over rising insecurity in the region.
On President Bola Tinubu’s directive to withdraw police personnel attached to Very Important Personalities (VIPs), the senator said the decision was ill-advised and had made lawmakers and other public office holders vulnerable.
“I think the President was ill-advised. Because if you withdraw the security from the VIPs, you are making them vulnerable, especially members of the National Assembly,” he said.
He lamented public hostility towards lawmakers, describing them as “the most abused” and “most hated” in the country, and recounted an incident in Kaduna where he overheard people referring to serving senators as “stupid rubber stamps.”
“Exposing National Assembly members to danger by withdrawing their security is like pushing them to be hanged,” he added.
The senator questioned why similar security withdrawals were not applied to ministers, governors and the President, arguing that the policy unfairly targeted lawmakers.
Describing state police as a “police state,” Hanga warned that creating parallel security structures would lead to rivalry with the federal police and deepen political tension across states.
He further expressed concern over Nigeria’s financial capacity to fund state police, noting that many states struggle to pay salaries of existing security personnel.
“If you create a state police without enough money to cater for them, you are creating a monster for the people. They will take care of themselves,” he warned.
Hanga, who said he is a member of the constitutional amendment committee, vowed to vote against the creation of state police in the Senate.
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