The Senate on Wednesday passed the long-awaited Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police across Nigeria, marking a major turning point in the country’s security architecture.
The landmark legislation, approved after a clause-by-clause consideration and a manual vote by senators, seeks to decentralise policing and allow states to establish their own police services alongside the existing federal police structure.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the passage of the bill after an overwhelming majority of lawmakers voted in its favour during plenary.
The bill was considered following the presentation of the report of the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution by Deputy Senate President and committee chairman, Barau Jibrin.
Leading the debate, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, urged lawmakers to support the proposal, describing it as a critical reform needed to address Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
A key provision of the bill empowers state governors to appoint Commissioners of Police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by their state Houses of Assembly.
Under Clause 17 of the proposed amendment, while the Federal Police Service will continue to be headed by the Inspector-General of Police, each State Police Service will be led by a Commissioner of Police appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state legislature.
The legislation also grants governors the power to issue lawful written directives on matters relating to public safety and order within their states.
To allay fears that state police could be weaponised against political opponents, the bill contains safeguards aimed at protecting civil liberties and political freedoms.
Section 17(7) specifically provides that a state Commissioner of Police shall not arrest, detain, investigate or deploy force against any person, political party or group merely for criticising the government, except in accordance with the law.
The passage of the bill came shortly after the Senate abandoned plans to use an electronic voting system due to technical glitches affecting some voting devices. Lawmakers instead adopted an open manual voting process to ensure full participation and transparency.
Several senior government officials witnessed the historic vote, including Uba Sani, Dapo Abiodun, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The approval of the State Police Bill represents one of the most consequential constitutional reforms of the 10th National Assembly and brings Nigeria closer than ever to the establishment of state-controlled police services.
The proposal, however, still requires approval by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly and other constitutional processes before it can become law.
