The Senate has passed a constitutional amendment bill to establish state police nationwide.
The bill was approved on Wednesday after lawmakers
considered and adopted its 26 clauses during the committee of the whole.
The proposed legislation seeks to create a constitutional
framework for state-controlled police services alongside the existing federal
policing structure.
The bill aims to strengthen security, improve intelligence
gathering and enable faster responses to local security threats.
‘ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS’
Opening debate on the bill, Opeyemi Bamidele, senate leader,
said the proposed legislation was an executive bill transmitted by President
Bola Tinubu.
Bamidele described the legislation as one of the most
significant constitutional reforms since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule.
“This important Bill is an Executive Bill transmitted by Mr.
President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, seeking to alter the Constitution to provide for the establishment of
State Police Services and other related matters,” he said.
“This Bill represents one of the most significant
constitutional reforms in our nation’s democratic evolution. It addresses a
long-standing national conversation on the structure, effectiveness,
responsiveness and sustainability of policing in the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.”
He said the current centralised policing structure had come
under pressure due to the increasing complexity of security threats across the
country.
“The increasing complexity of security threats, which
include terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal conflicts, farmer-herder
clashes, cybercrime, organised criminal networks and other transnational
crimes, have placed enormous pressure on the existing policing framework,”
Bamidele said.
He said the proposed amendments would preserve the federal
police while creating constitutional pathways for states to establish their own
police services.
According to him, states that choose to establish police
services would be required to do so through legislation passed by their houses
of assembly and meet national minimum standards prescribed by the national
assembly.
He said the federal police would retain responsibility for
counter-terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime, border security, arms
trafficking, policing of the federal capital territory and other national
security matters.
The lawmaker added that state police services would be
responsible for enforcing state laws, maintaining public order, preventing and
detecting crimes within their jurisdictions and protecting lives and property.
Bamidele said the bill contains safeguards against political
abuse by prohibiting governors from directing state police services to
unlawfully target individuals, political parties, groups or associations.
He added that the legislation prohibits the use of police
powers for partisan, ethnic, religious, sectional or personal purposes.
‘MY POSITION ON STATE POLICE HAS CHANGED’
Contributing to the debate, Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator
representing Abia south, said he previously opposed the creation of state
police but had changed his position because of the country’s worsening security
situation.
“Mr. President, I used to be one of those that is against
state police. Mark my words; I used to be,” he said.
”But today, we know that we have very serious insecurity
problem that can only be solved by thinking outside the box. And I think that
this is part of it.”
Abaribe said the greater concern lies in the provisions of
the proposed police legislation that would operationalise the constitutional
amendment.
“But our issue on this is actually what goes into the police
act. It’s not really the amendment of the constitution. Because you can amend
the constitution but then in the act, matters of usage of the police is where
most Nigerians are bothered about,” he said.
The opposition lawmaker warned against granting excessive
powers to the president to take over a state police service.
“We cannot have a situation where the president just looks
at a state, maybe he’s not in good terms with the governor, and decides that he
will take it over,” he said.
Abaribe also raised concerns about funding arrangements for
state police services.
He said allocations meant for state police commissions
should be guaranteed by the constitution and paid directly to the commissions
to prevent political interference.
“So that what we are seeing today, with regard to local
government funds, we don’t have to see it with the police,” he said.
“I support this bill and I ask my colleagues to please also
support it, provided we put the safeguards that we guarantee each Nigerian his
rights.”
‘STATE POLICE WILL STRENGTHEN FEDERALISM’
Aminu Tambuwal, senator representing Sokoto south, said he
had consistently supported state police as part of efforts to deepen federalism
in Nigeria.
“Mr. President, let me make it clear that I am in support of
this bill and I am in support of the idea of state police,” he said.
“I have been consistent on this, not only when I was in the
House of Reps as Speaker and as Governor of Sokoto State, even while here in
the Senate, in the number of interviews I granted, I alluded to the fact that I
support state police because I believe that that will also be a major leap into
entrenchment of federalism in Nigeria.”
Tambuwal cited attacks in Sokoto state as evidence of the
need for alternative security approaches.
“Only about three or four years ago, in my senatorial
district, we lost over 80 people in Dange Shuni local government. Only three or
four days ago, in the same local government, we lost some personnel of police
that were there on rescue mission to send away bandits,” he said.
“So that is a clear picture of what is happening in most
parts of the country. This is needed. Every effort, any effort to curb this
menace of insecurity in Nigeria is needed.”
Tambuwal echoed Abaribe’s concerns about safeguards against
abuse by state authorities.
“We must have safeguards that will now ensure that there is
no abuse on the part of those who are today in that position that we have left.
And those who are coming, even those from amongst us, to this position of being
governors of particular states,” he said.
The legislator urged lawmakers to support all efforts aimed
at improving security across the country.
“I believe that the Senate of this country, we must ensure
that we support Mr. President, support the security agencies in every effort
that will establish security in every part of this country,” he said.
For the constitutional amendments to take effect, the bill
must secure the approval of at least two-thirds of the state houses of assembly
before being transmitted to the president for assent.
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