Politics
Senator Supports Call For State Police
The call for a decentralised police force in Nigeria resonated in Ilorin, yesterday with Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru arguing that the lingering security challenges have dampened the trust of the Nigerian public in the security agencies.
Delivering a lecture organised by the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Kwara State held at the Press Centre, Ilorin, Senator Basiru said “obviously, this lack of trust has led many Nigerians to question the capacity of government to guarantee safety and security of Nigerians under the 1999 constitutional framework of a centralised police force and all other security agencies.”
Senator Basiru, a former attorney general of the state of Osun, recalled his experiences that suggest the necessity for state police, saying “again it is not too much to lend more voice to this call and I think the present security challenges we are faced with has made it more than a call but a necessity which the government must seriously look into.”
According to the lawmaker, policing a nation or community is said to be local and cannot be best solved by the centralised system of policing that we operate.
Senator Basiru who is the chairman, Senate committee on Diaspora, Non-governmental organisations and Civil Societies said combating crime in any federation was the collective responsibility of all tiers of government, hence the inability of the Nigeria police to tackle security challenges will be resolved significantly with the establishment of state police.
On the judiciary as a strong pillar of democracy, the senator said the problem of that arm of government “Is that of capacity rather than independence that is affecting its ability to fairly and efficiently dispense justice.
He mentioned some challenges of the judiciary to include poor infrastructure of the courts, court congestion, poor investigation by law enforcement agencies, particularly the police, poor prison conditions and lengthy pre-trial detention leading to delay of trials among others.
Enumerating the role of the media in a democracy, Senator Basiru observed that while the media helps to disseminate information and educate the citizens on national issues and constitutional rights among others, “the Nigerian media has become stereotype to just reporting news and events.”
The Commission disclosed the figure in its weekly update for week 14 of the second phase of the exercise, which ended on Friday, April 17, 2026.
According to the breakdown, 2,259,288 Nigerians completed their registration through the online pre-registration portal, while 1,489,416 finalized their registration physically at designated centres nationwide.
INEC noted that the figures remain preliminary and are subject to further verification and data cleaning processes to ensure accuracy ahead of the consolidation of the national voter register.
With the conclusion of the registration phase, the Commission has now shifted focus to the display of the Register of Voters for Claims and Objections, a statutory stage aimed at strengthening the credibility and integrity of the voters register.
The display exercise is scheduled to hold from April 29 to May 5, 2026, across designated centres nationwide, providing citizens the opportunity to verify their details and raise objections where necessary.
The Commission urged all registered voters from the concluded phase to take advantage of the exercise to confirm the accuracy of their information and assist in identifying ineligible entries, including duplicate registrations, deceased persons, and non-citizens.
INEC explained that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise is being conducted in phases, with the first phase running from August 18 to December 10, 2025, while the second phase commenced on January 5, 2026 and ended on April 17, 2026.
The Commission further stated that the date for the commencement of the third phase will be announced in due course.
Reaffirming its commitment to credible elections, INEC stressed that maintaining a clean and accurate voter register remains central to ensuring free, fair, and transparent electoral processes in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, informed the journalists that the dialogue was sponsored by the European Union, under the auspices of the EU-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II), Component 4: Support to Media.
According to the veteran media practitioner, the programme is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the media to promote credible elections through factual, accurate and fair reporting.
He explained that the programme is part of a broader five-year intervention designed to support democratic governance and improve the role of the media in Nigeria’s electoral process, stressing that fact-checking and inclusive reporting are critical responsibilities for journalists, especially during electioneering.
He described the media as a central role agent with regard to upholding transparency and accountability in the democratic process.
A resource person and Director of Journalism Clinic, Lagos, Mr Taiwo Obe, enjoined journalists to embrace the evolving technology so that they would not be in the backwaters in the practice of the profession.
He advised journalists not to downplay Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their bid to remain relevant in the media environment by being abreast of the changing patterns of news consumption.
The journalism teacher explained that with digital transformation of the media industry, it had become imperative for journalists to constantly upgrade and update their skills, stressing the fundamental place of attitude and self-development and underscored the dynamic nature of media consumption in the digital age, thereby compelling journalists to embrace tools and platforms, but without much reliance on AI.
In his lecture, a Professor of Mass Communication at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Adebola Aderibigbe, advised journalists in Ekiti State to ensure that coverage of the upcoming governorship poll is issue-based rather than dwelling on personalities.
He added that sensationalism should not occupy the front-burner of any discussions concerning the 2026 election, admonishing that sustenance of democracy is anchored on responsible journalism.
”Journalists must prioritise accuracy, fairness and balance in their reports by verifying facts and giving all parties involved in political matters the opportunity to present their views”, he said.
According to the university don, the election will not be defined by personalities, but by issues. ”Let issues be the pivotal ring upon which every discussion should be made. Sensationalisation of issues should not be the bedrock of discussions in the 2026 election”, he added.
“Do not hear from Party A without hearing from Party B, otherwise the report will be skewed to one side and once issues of elections are skewed, problems will naturally arise”, he stressed.