Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has provided details on how the state intends to incorporate a proposed state police structure into its current security architecture to address rising insecurity and enhance coordination among law enforcement agencies.

Speaking on Monday during an interview on TVC, the governor reaffirmed his support for the establishment of state police, describing it as a critical measure to build a more responsive and efficient security system.

Sanwo-Olu explained that the creation of state police would enable Lagos to fully integrate policing operations into its existing command and control centres.

“If we do have state police, we can ensure that me, as a Chief Executive of the state, can integrate the entire architecture of the state police into our command and control centre,” he said.

The governor also highlighted that President Bola Tinubu is a strong proponent of the initiative, noting the President’s commitment to advancing a state policing system in Nigeria.

“And thankfully, Mr President has said that he’ll do everything within his power to see how the country evolves into a state police,” Sanwo-Olu added.

He revealed that Lagos currently has over 7,500 neighbourhood watch personnel, a number that could be significantly increased if the state police become operational.

“I have over 7,500 neighbourhood watch. I can actually push to get them to 10,000 or 12,000 tomorrow or next tomorrow,” the governor stated.

Sanwo-Olu further elaborated that the state plans to harmonise intelligence and surveillance resources across key agencies, including the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, to ensure seamless sharing of information.

“The same information that LASTMA has in terms of cameras, the same information that LASEMA has and the state police, we all sit together and we will share it,” he said, stressing that such collaboration would provide “a comprehensive, integrated security architecture.”

The governor’s remarks follow calls by President Tinubu urging state governors and All Progressives Congress, APC, leaders to support the creation of state police and to fully implement local government autonomy.

The President made the appeal during the 14th APC National Caucus meeting in Abuja, emphasizing the need for governance reforms to align with the party’s political mandate and the recent Supreme Court ruling granting financial independence to local government councils.