The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, led by Oba Oladipo Olaitan, has renewed its call for the immediate creation of state police and the full implementation of the 2014 National Conference report, insisting that Nigeria’s centralised policing system continues to fuel widespread insecurity.
The renewed call follows a recent threat by former U.S. President Donald Trump to invade Nigeria over alleged Christian genocide — a development Afenifere described as an inevitable consequence of the Federal Government’s failure to reform the nation’s security architecture.
In a statement jointly signed by Oba Olaitan and the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Justice Faloye, Afenifere blamed the Federal Government’s reluctance to decentralise policing for the persistent killings and insecurity ravaging the country.
The statement read:
“Regardless of whether the killings are described as religious or ethnic genocide, the fact remains that lives are being wasted due to the continued refusal to create state and local government police.”
The organisation also recalled its May 29, 2025, mid-term review of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, where it warned that the centralised policing structure placed full responsibility for the nation’s growing insecurity squarely on the President.
Afenifere further faulted what it called the over-centralisation of governance, lamenting the absence of Nigerian ambassadors in key nations such as the United States, which it said has weakened the country’s diplomatic influence amid rising international concerns about insecurity.
The statement added:
“Nigeria now faces the threat of foreign intervention without diplomatic buffers. The Presidency cannot directly manage diplomatic relations; ambassadors must be appointed immediately.”
Afenifere cautioned that failure to restructure and establish state police could push Nigeria toward a sectarian crisis, potentially opening the door to foreign humanitarian intervention.
The organisation therefore urged Nigerians to resist external interference and unite in support of domestic reforms to tackle insecurity and ethnic tensions.
“We demand the immediate implementation of state police and the 2014 Confab resolutions. This is the only path to saving lives, restoring peace, and preventing foreign interference in Nigeria’s affairs,” Afenifere insisted.
— Hobnob News
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