The Kwara State House of Assembly has approved a proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution that provides a legal framework for establishing state police in Nigeria.
The approval came during Tuesday’s plenary after Speaker Yakubu Danladi-Salihu read a letter from the Clerk of the National Assembly on the constitutional alteration.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Abdulkadir Yusuf, in Ilorin.
According to the statement, “The Kwara State House of Assembly has approved the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution to provide a legal framework for the establishment of state police.”
House Leader Mogaji Oba Abdulkadri led the debate, outlining the benefits the amendment would bring to the country’s policing system. Other lawmakers noted that the change would bring police closer to the people and improve the security of lives and property across the nation.
After the deliberations, the Speaker directed the Clerk of the House, Alhaji Ahmed Olayiwola, to formally communicate the Assembly’s decision to the National Assembly.
The move forms part of ongoing efforts to amend the Constitution to allow states to create their own police services alongside the existing Nigeria Police Force.
The National Assembly had earlier transmitted the proposed amendment to state legislatures for consideration.Under Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, at least 24 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly must approve a constitutional alteration before it can advance to the next stage.
Advocates of state police argue that decentralising the system would enhance intelligence gathering and enable quicker responses to local security challenges such as kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes.
Kwara’s approval represents one step in the constitutional process and does not by itself create an operational state police force in the state.
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