The Senate on Thursday approved the second reading of a bill seeking to establish state police and transfer policing powers to subnational governments across the federation.
The proposed legislation aims to strengthen Nigeria’s internal security architecture by creating both Federal and State Police structures with clearly defined roles.
President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, referred the bill to the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution for further consideration and scrutiny after it received broad support from senators across political divides.
Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, led the debate and stressed the national significance of creating state police, given the dwindling capacity of the Nigeria Police Force to ensure internal stability.
Bamidele highlighted Nigeria’s unprecedented security challenges, which range from terrorism and violent extremism to banditry, mass abductions, farmer-herder conflicts, cultism, armed robbery, pipeline vandalism, communal clashes, and emerging cyber-enabled crimes.
Consequently, Nigerians have repeatedly called for the establishment of state police, citing the inability of a centralised policing structure to adequately respond to complex, evolving and localised security threats in communities.
In response to public demands, Bamidele sponsored the state police bill as one of the measures to modernise Nigeria’s security architecture and bring policing closer to the people.
The bill seeks to establish Federal and State Police structures, define their respective responsibilities, create State Police Service Commissions, provide oversight mechanisms, and transfer policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.
Bamidele noted that the proposed amendment “does not weaken national unity. Rather, it strengthens the Federation by enabling each level of government to effectively discharge its constitutional responsibilities.”
He acknowledged that one of the major concerns often raised against state police is the possibility of abuse by state governments, but said the bill adequately addresses those concerns through several safeguards.
The safeguards, according to Bamidele, include the establishment of State Police Service Commissions, federal oversight through the Federal Police Service Commission, uniform national policing standards, and legislative confirmation of senior appointments.
He also identified constitutional procedures for the removal of state commissioners of police, periodic certification and review of State Police operations, and federal intervention mechanisms in situations of complete breakdown of law and order as additional checks.
Bamidele said all the safeguards “are intended to create a balanced framework that combines operational autonomy with accountability and constitutional oversight.”
He argued that security “is most effective when it is local,” adding that state police will improve intelligence gathering because local officers understand languages, customs, and social structures, and will facilitate rapid response, promote community policing, and relieve pressure on the Federal Police.
After Bamidele’s lead debate, senators, mostly from the North, spoke in favour of the establishment of state police, with Chief Whip Senator Tahir Monguno expressing strong support and saying the bill will provide a legal framework for the establishment, regulation, and accountability of state police while addressing the proliferation of vigilante groups.
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