The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission and the Oluwarotimi Akeredolu Foundation have renewed calls for the establishment of state police, saying Nigeria needs a new security architecture to address its mounting security challenges.

The organisations made the call in Ibadan while announcing a posthumous 70th birthday colloquium in honour of the late former Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN.

The colloquium, themed, “Fundamentals and Governance of State Policing: Towards a New Architecture for National Security in Nigeria,” is scheduled to hold on October 8, 2026, at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.

Speaking at a press conference, the Director-General of DAWN Commission, Dr Seye Oyeleye, said the debate on state policing had moved beyond whether it should be established to the practical questions of funding, training, equipment and governance.

He said the colloquium would examine institutional safeguards to prevent abuse and ensure that state police remained accountable to the people rather than politicians.

Oyeleye said Nigeria was grappling with banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder clashes and attacks on farms, highways and places of worship, adding that the country’s centralised policing structure was under pressure.

He said the gathering would bring together governors, lawmakers, security chiefs, traditional rulers, scholars and civil society organisations to deliberate on state policing and national security.

According to him, the issue transcended regional interests and should be treated as a national concern with far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s federal structure.

Oyeleye cited the establishment of the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as Amotekun, as evidence of the potential of regional cooperation and local knowledge in addressing security challenges.

He said the Southwest, which he described as having led the discussions that culminated in Amotekun, was ready to contribute to the national conversation on state policing.

Representing the Akeredolu family, Taiwo Adewole said the family chose to commemorate the late governor through ideas and sustained conversations rather than mourning alone.

Adewole described Akeredolu as a lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and two-term governor of Ondo State, noting that security was among the causes he championed.

He recalled Akeredolu’s role as chairman of the Southwest Governors’ Forum in the establishment of Amotekun, saying the initiative reflected his conviction that security should begin at the community level.

According to Adewole, Akeredolu believed that people closest to a community were best positioned to protect it.

He said the colloquium was designed to sustain the late governor’s advocacy by examining the principles, structures and governance mechanisms required for state policing.

The Ondo State Governor, Dr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, is expected to host the colloquium, while the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address.

Also present at the press conference were Prince Adetayo Adeleke-Adedoyin, Head of Special Projects at the DAWN Commission, and Ms Naomi Olabode, Secretary-General of the Southwest Governors’ Forum.