Lawmakers at the Senate
Senate on Wednesday passed a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow the establishment of State Police Services across Nigeria.
The proposed law introduces a dual policing system made up of the Federal Police Service and separate State Police Services.
The bill scaled second and third readings after Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele presented its general principles and lawmakers considered it clause by clause.
More than two-thirds of senators voted in support of the legislation before its final passage.
A major provision empowers governors to appoint Commissioners of Police for their states, subject to confirmation by their respective State Houses of Assembly.
According to Clause 17, “A State Police Service shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police of the State appointed by the Governor of the State on the recommendation of the National Police Council, subject to confirmation by the House of Assembly of the State and to such qualifications and national minimum standards as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly”.
The bill also states that “a governor may issue lawful written directives of a general policy nature to the Commissioner of Police on matters relating to the maintenance of public safety and public order within the state”.
To prevent abuse of power, the legislation provides that “a state Commissioner of Police shall not arrest, detain, investigate or deploy force against any person, political party or group merely for criticizing the government except in accordance with the law”.
It further allows federal intervention in a state’s security affairs under specific conditions and states that “An intervention under subsection (10) of this section shall be authorised in writing by the President”.
The passage of the bill follows President Bola Tinubu’s request to the National Assembly, as part of wider efforts to reform Nigeria’s security system and improve responses to growing security challenges across the country.
