The Governor of Enugu State and Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) Committee on the Overhaul of Police and Other Security Training Institutions, Dr. Peter Mbah, has revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a national emergency on security training facilities across the country as part of a broader strategy to strengthen Nigeria’s internal security architecture.
Speaking at the Police Training College, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, during the committee’s inspection tour of police and other security training facilities, Governor Mbah said the President’s decision was driven by his deep concern over the poor state of training infrastructure nationwide.
He clarified that the initiative predated and was not connected to recent comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump on Nigeria’s security challenges.
“Mr. President recognises that there is a need for bold and urgent steps to restore the pride, professionalism, and confidence of men and women in the security space,” Mbah said.
Quoting President Tinubu, Mbah added: “You cannot expect our men and women, who are protecting our communities and are expected to uphold law and order, to be trained in an environment that is inhumane. That is not acceptable.”
The governor described the President’s approach as “forward-thinking and proactive,” saying that the neglect of security training institutions over the decades had crippled capacity and effectiveness.
“This is not a knee-jerk reaction. It’s a deliberate policy intervention aimed at modernizing our training institutions and ensuring that our personnel are adequately equipped. The President saw this as an emergency, and that’s exactly how we are treating it,” he emphasized.
Governor Mbah disclosed that the NEC Committee, which includes Governors Uba Sani (Kaduna), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Kefas Agbu (Taraba), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), as well as former Inspector-General of Police, Baba Usman, as Secretary, has been given 30 days to submit a comprehensive report.
To fast-track the process, Mbah said the committee had been divided into two teams to cover both northern and southern regions simultaneously. “We are also here with consultants who will conduct a deep assessment of what needs to be rebuilt, equipped, and sustained in our training institutions,” he explained.
The governor further disclosed that the federal government’s plan to recruit an additional 30,000 police officers made the rehabilitation of training facilities an urgent necessity.
“We cannot train 30,000 new recruits effectively if the infrastructure is decayed. That’s why the President has prioritized this intervention,” Mbah said.
He assured that the reform would be holistic, integrating modern technologies and digital skills into police and security training.
“We cannot use 20th-century systems to train a 21st-century security force. Our officers must now be trained in artificial intelligence, robotics, mechatronics, and other digital skills required to police a modern society. This will be a total overhaul,” Mbah stated.
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, who is also a member of the committee, corroborated Mbah’s position, describing the President’s directive as “a sign of urgency and political will.”
“The fact that the committee comprises governors underscores the seriousness of this exercise. We don’t have the luxury of time. The intervention will be immediate,” Abiodun affirmed.
Earlier, the Commandant of the Police Training College, AIG Omolara Oloruntola, lamented the dilapidated condition of the facility, which was established by the British colonial authorities in 1949. She expressed optimism that the federal government’s intervention would restore the institution to its former glory and improve the quality of police training in Nigeria.
