Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has warned that any move to establish state police without guaranteeing its financial independence could expose the security outfit to political interference, criminal infiltration and private interests, ultimately undermining its ability to protect lives and property.
Speaking at the ARISE NEWS Townhall on State Police, Bamidele said adequate funding would determine whether the proposed policing structure succeeds or fails, warning that an underfunded state police system would become vulnerable to manipulation by politicians, business interests and criminal networks.
“If the state police is not well funded, it may as well be a highway to nowhere,” he said.
The lawmaker explained that the constitutional amendment before the National Assembly was designed to empower states to establish their own police services by moving policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.
He clarified that the amendment would not compel every state to immediately establish a state police force once the constitutional review is concluded.
According to him, the proposed amendment would merely provide the legal framework, allowing individual states to decide whether they have the capacity and resources to create their own police services.
“It’s not every state that will immediately, once we finish amending this Constitution, go to town to say, ‘We’re launching our state police,'” Bamidele said.
He added, “All we are trying to achieve with this constitutional amendment is to move this duty from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.”
Bamidele also acknowledged growing concerns over the possible abuse of state police, describing such fears as legitimate and deeply rooted in Nigeria’s political history.
He assured Nigerians that lawmakers were taking those concerns seriously as work continued on the constitutional amendment.
“The various concerns that have been expressed from different quarters are well-founded concerns that we cannot sweep under the carpet or pretend that they are not real,” he said.
