The Senate has passed constitutional amendments to establish State Police in Nigeria.
Naija News reports that the bill was passed on Wednesday by the lawmakers following a clause-by-clause consideration of the provisions of the bill.
The Senate plenary was presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The 25-clause bill provides the legal framework for the creation of State Police Services by states and also includes constitutional safeguards aimed at preventing abuse of police powers by governors and other political actors.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, said the legislation was carefully designed to address fears that governors could misuse state-controlled police formations to harass political opponents, intimidate dissenting voices, or suppress opposition parties.
Under the new structure, the current constitutional provision establishing only the Nigeria Police Force would be replaced with a dual policing system comprising a Federal Police Service for the federation and a State Police Service for any state that chooses to establish one through legislation passed by its House of Assembly.
As earlier reported, the Senate adopted manual voting for the consideration of the State Police Bill after the electronic voting device developed technical issues during plenary on Wednesday.
The decision followed concerns that some lawmakers could be disenfranchised if the chamber proceeded with the faulty device.
Under the manual voting arrangement, each senator had to stand up, announce his or her name, and openly state his or her position on the proposed bill for establishing State Police.
President Bola Tinubu had earlier transmitted a Constitution Amendment Bill seeking the establishment of State Police to the Senate as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s security architecture.
The legislation seeks to amend relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to create a legal framework for the establishment of state police across the federation.
The move follows repeated calls by the President for constitutional reforms that would enable states to play a more active role in securing their territories.
Before the law becomes fully operational, it must also be approved by at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, meaning a minimum of 24 states must pass it.
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