By Ayodele Oni
The constitutional framework for the establishment of state police took shape at the House of Representatives on Thursday as it passed an amendment bill seeking to establish state police across Nigeria.
The bill was passed during plenary session with lawmakers setting aside consideration of several other constitutional amendment bills to a later legislative session.
The passage of the state police bill comes amid growing concerns over worsening insecurity across the country, including terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, attacks on rural communities and other violent crimes that have stretched the capacity of Nigeria’s centralised policing system.
The development follows Wednesday’s announcement by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review, Benjamin Kalu, who urged lawmakers to attend Thursday’s plenary for the crucial vote.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Kalu had described the proposed amendment as a major milestone in ongoing efforts to reform Nigeria’s security framework.
The move also comes days after the Presidency disclosed that constitutional amendments required for the establishment of state police were nearing completion.
Last week, President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, revealed that extensive consultations had been ongoing for months to address the constitutional and legal issues surrounding the creation of state police.
“We started deliberations in the last three or four months on how to go about the establishment of state police as directed by Mr President.
“Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of the fingers. There is a lot involved in terms of constitution and legalities, and thank God we have now gained a lot of traction.”
According to him, the immediate priority was securing constitutional amendments before moving on to enabling legislation that would provide operational details for the new policing structure.
The push for state police has gained momentum in recent years as security challenges continue to overwhelm the Nigeria Police Force, which critics say is overstretched, underfunded and unable to effectively address local security threats due to its highly centralised command structure.
Several states have already established regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West and similar networks in other parts of the country.
However, those outfits currently lack full constitutional backing and conventional policing powers.
The bill is expected to proceed to the next constitutional processes required before becoming law.
– Source: Sahara Reporters
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