NIGERIA is considering the introduction of state police in its 36 states to bolster its national police force as it struggles to contain widespread violence and insecurity, the information minister said. An Islamist insurgency in the northeast, kidnappings for ransom, deadly farmer-herder clashes in the central belt and separatist and gang violence in the southeast are some of the challenges faced by Nigeria's police force. President Bola Tinubu met the country's state governors to discuss insecurity, which is hurting farmers and contributing to high food prices and inflation. The federal government and the state governments agreed that a state police force was necessary, marking "a significant shift" in…