He made the proposal on Friday while speaking at the June 12, 2026 edition of The Platform, organised by The Covenant Nation.
According to him, ongoing and future police reforms—especially after the introduction of state policing—should include expanding the eligibility pool for the office of the Inspector-General of Police.
“The reform we need after state police becomes operational involves changing how our Inspectors-General of Police are appointed. Time will not permit me to go through the different ways various countries appoint their police chiefs, but we need to widen the pool,” he said at the event.
He further argued that leadership at the highest level of policing should not necessarily be limited to serving career officers.
“The highest professional policing rank in the world is Commissioner. Anything above the rank of Commissioner is political. Therefore, an Inspector-General of Police does not have to come from the rank and file of the police. We need to widen that pool over time.”
Omole maintained that the suggestion forms part of a broader reform agenda aimed at strengthening internal security in Nigeria.
He stressed that the police should be treated as the central institution of internal security management, pointing out that some countries operate without a military but still maintain stability through strong policing systems.
“We must focus on the reform of the police as a primary institution for internal security. What do I mean by that? There are nations on earth that do not have armed forces, but there is no nation on earth that does not have a police force,” he said.
“Nations like Costa Rica, Iceland, Panama, and Mauritius do not have a military, and they are peaceful. But because there is no nation without a police force, our police should become more of a priority.”
He repeated the same emphasis on prioritising police reform as the foundation of national internal security.
“We must focus on the reform of the police as a primary institution for internal security. What do I mean by that? There are nations on earth that do not have armed forces, but there is no nation on earth that does not have a police force.
“Nations like Costa Rica, Iceland, Panama, and Mauritius do not have a military, and they are peaceful. But because there is no nation without a police force, our police should become more of a priority.”