Southern governors, groups, and some prominent Nigerians have called for the creation of state police to solve the country’s insecurity.

However, in an interview with Channels Television, Buhari stated that using state police to quell unrest in the country was not a good option.

The Nigerian leader warned that establishing state police would cause further problems in the country, claiming that state governors will misuse their authority and deploy the police to persecute opponents.

He said, “State police is not an option.

“Find out the relationship between local government and the governors. Are the third tier of government getting what they are supposed to get constitutionally?

“Are they getting it? Let the people in local government tell you the truth, the fight between local governments and the governor.”

Speaking further, Buhari acknowledged the huge role traditional rulers play in bringing peace to communities, adding that more dialogue should be carried out in resolving clashes across the country.

He added: “The role of traditional rulers must not be undermined because in their areas they know who is who, even by families, not to even talk of individuals. So, we have to revert to that system for us to have effective security in the localities.

“For example, there were two governors that came to see me about problems – Oyo State and one other state – because the herders were in their forests but the animals were going into the neighboring farms and eating the crops. I said, as far as I know, the farmers and herders have been co-existing in Nigeria for generations.

“Let them go and ask the local leadership what has gone wrong, why the break in communication between the local leadership and the herders.”