…Law Needs Endorsement of 24 State Assemblies as Lawmakers Demand Safeguards Against Abuse
By Franklin Adole
Nigeria’s decades-long debate over state policing moved a major step forward on Wednesday as the Senate passed a constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police services across the federation, but the proposal’s fate now rests with the 36 State Houses of Assembly amid growing calls for safeguards against political abuse.
The bill, which was approved after the Senate considered and adopted its 26 clauses in the Committee of the Whole, seeks to create a constitutional framework for state-controlled police services alongside the existing federal policing structure.
Proponents of the legislation argue that state police have become imperative in the face of rising insecurity, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes, farmer-herder conflicts, cybercrime and organised criminal activities that have stretched the capacity of the federal police.
Opening debate on the bill, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele described the proposal as one of the most significant constitutional reforms since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.
According to him, the bill, transmitted by President Bola Tinubu, seeks to address long-standing concerns about the effectiveness, responsiveness and sustainability of Nigeria’s highly centralised policing system.
Bamidele said the proposed amendment would preserve the federal police while creating constitutional pathways for states to establish their own police services through legislation passed by their respective Houses of Assembly and in accordance with national standards prescribed by the National Assembly.
Under the proposal, the federal police would continue to handle counter-terrorism operations, organised crime, cybercrime, border security, arms trafficking, policing of the Federal Capital Territory and other national security responsibilities.
State police services, on the other hand, would be empowered to enforce state laws, maintain public order, prevent and detect crimes within their jurisdictions and protect lives and property.
“The increasing complexity of security threats has placed enormous pressure on the existing policing framework,” Bamidele said, arguing that the proposed reform would improve intelligence gathering and enable quicker responses to local security challenges.
While support for the bill was widespread, several lawmakers warned that adequate constitutional and legal safeguards must be put in place to prevent the misuse of state police by political actors.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of Abia South said he had previously opposed the creation of state police but had reconsidered his position in light of the country’s worsening security crisis.
He, however, cautioned that the real challenge would be in the operational law that would govern the police services, stressing that Nigerians remain concerned about how state police powers could be exercised.
Abaribe warned against any arrangement that would allow either governors or the President to deploy police powers arbitrarily for political purposes.
“We must guarantee each Nigerian his rights,” he said, while also advocating constitutional safeguards for funding to ensure state police commissions are insulated from political interference.
Similarly, Senator Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto South backed the proposal, describing it as a necessary step toward strengthening federalism and addressing the country’s security challenges.
Drawing from recent attacks in Sokoto State, including the killing of residents and security personnel by bandits, Tambuwal said Nigeria must explore every available option to confront insecurity.
He nevertheless echoed concerns about possible abuse, insisting that lawmakers must ensure adequate checks and balances are embedded in the legislation.
“We must have safeguards that will ensure there is no abuse,” Tambuwal said.
To address such fears, Bamidele noted that the bill already contains provisions prohibiting governors from directing state police services to unlawfully target individuals, political parties, groups or associations. The legislation also bars the use of police powers for partisan, ethnic, religious, sectional or personal interests.
Despite clearing a major hurdle at the National Assembly, the state police proposal is not yet law.
Under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, constitutional amendments approved by the National Assembly must also be ratified by not less than two-thirds of the State Houses of Assembly before they can be transmitted to the President for assent.
With Nigeria having 36 states, the bill must secure the endorsement of at least 24 State Assemblies to become law.
The constitutional requirement has effectively shifted the battleground from Abuja to the states, where lawmakers will now determine whether Nigeria adopts one of the most far-reaching security reforms since the advent of the Fourth Republic.