Nigeria on Wednesday moved closer than ever to establishing a state police force after the Senate passed the controversial Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to decentralise policing, shifting the battle for the landmark reform to the 36 state Houses of Assembly where at least 24 legislatures must endorse the proposal before it can become law.
The passage of the bill by the Senate marks a major breakthrough in a debate that has dominated Nigeria’s security discourse for decades and comes amid worsening insecurity across several parts of the country, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal violence and organised criminal activities.
The legislation, which seeks to establish state-controlled police services alongside the existing Nigeria Police Force, was approved after senators secured the constitutionally required two-thirds majority through a manual voting process adopted following technical glitches that affected the chamber’s electronic voting devices.
With both chambers of the National Assembly now backing the proposal, attention has shifted to state assemblies, whose approval will determine whether Nigeria finally abandons its long-standing exclusive federal policing structure.
The proposed amendment is widely regarded as one of the most consequential constitutional reforms undertaken since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
At the centre of the reform is a provision empowering governors to appoint Commissioners of Police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by state Houses of Assembly.
Under Clause 17 of the proposed constitutional amendment, “while the Federal Police Service will continue to be headed by the Inspector-General of Police, each State Police Service shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature of the state.”
The development effectively creates a dual policing structure in which state police formations would operate concurrently with federal police authorities.
The Senate approved the bill after considering the report of the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution presented by Deputy Senate President and committee chairman, Barau Jibrin.
The bill’s provisions were first considered at the Committee of the Whole before lawmakers adopted them and proceeded to a final vote.
Leading debate on the legislation, Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, described the proposal as a carefully designed framework aimed at balancing local policing autonomy with national cohesion.
“The bill is intended to retain the Nigeria Police Force for federal policing duties while providing for the establishment of state police services in states that choose to adopt them,” he stated.
Bamidele explained that the proposed structure clearly delineates the responsibilities of the federal and state police services.
According to him, state police would be responsible for enforcing state laws, maintaining public safety and public order, preventing and detecting crimes within their jurisdictions, protecting lives and property and carrying out other local policing duties.
On the responsibilities of the federal police, Bamidele noted that the federal police would be in charge of protecting federal institutions, counter-terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime, border security, arms trafficking, interstate criminal activities and other national security matters.
The Senate Leader also clarified the conditions under which federal police authorities could intervene in security situations within states.
He explained that intervention would only occur where there “is outright breakdown of public order at a specific subnational entity; when state police are incapable of functioning; when there is serious violation of fundamental rights; when there is an established record of electoral intimidation and when national security is under threat.”
According to him, such intervention would require written authorisation from the President and Commander-in-Chief and would remain subject to Senate oversight and judicial review.
Safeguards
The delineation of powers was one of several safeguards introduced by lawmakers to address long-standing concerns that governors could abuse state police formations for political purposes.
Indeed, fears that state police could become instruments of intimidation against opposition figures, critics and civil society groups have historically been one of the strongest arguments against decentralised policing.
To address such concerns, senators inserted explicit anti-abuse provisions into the constitutional amendment.
One of the key safeguards adopted by the Senate 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 provision is expected to serve as a constitutional shield against politically motivated arrests and abuse of power.
In addition, lawmakers proposed that the National Assembly should retain powers to prescribe minimum national standards relating to recruitment, training, vetting, promotion, discipline, use of force, firearms, complaints procedures, accountability mechanisms, data management and professional conduct for state police services.
Bamidele said the proposed framework generally seeks “to balance local policing autonomy with national cohesion, accountability with operational effectiveness and federal oversight with state responsibility.
“The bill provides robust safeguards against abuse, preserves federal authority where necessary, protects constitutional rights and creates a modern policing framework capable of addressing contemporary security challenges.”
The state police proposal has remained one of the most contentious constitutional issues since the advent of the Fourth Republic.
Successive administrations, constitutional conferences, security experts and governors have repeatedly canvassed the idea, arguing that Nigeria’s highly centralised policing arrangement has become increasingly inadequate for a federation of more than 200 million people.
Supporters argue that officers recruited locally would possess a better understanding of their environment, language, culture and security dynamics, thereby improving intelligence gathering and crime prevention.
They also contend that state governments, which already spend billions of naira supporting federal security agencies, should have greater control over policing within their territories.
Critics, however, warn that powerful governors could deploy state police to settle political scores, intimidate opponents and influence elections.
These fears have often stalled previous attempts to amend the Constitution.
Wednesday’s Senate approval therefore represents a major political milestone.
The significance of the exercise was evident in the unusual voting process adopted by lawmakers.
The Senate was initially expected to deploy electronic voting for the constitutional amendment exercise.
However, technical glitches affecting some voting devices forced lawmakers to abandon the plan and resort to manual voting.
Moving a motion on the floor, Bamidele argued that every senator must be given an opportunity to participate in the historic vote.
He said, “Rather than go by way of electronic voting, which obviously now will disenfranchise a few or some of our colleagues whose machines are not working, I am moving that we allow every distinguished senator to answer his or her father’s name by doing manual voting.”
Senate President Godswill Akpabio endorsed the proposal.
“For transparency, and the need for the constituents to know where you stand on every issue, it is good for us to go into manual voting,” Akpabio said.
Following the adoption of the motion, senators were called individually to publicly declare their positions during the clause-by-clause consideration of the constitutional amendment bills.
To facilitate the process, the Senate suspended the relevant provisions of its Standing Rules through a voice vote.
The exercise attracted top government officials and governors who observed proceedings from the gallery.
Among those present were Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani; Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Their presence underscored the enormous political and security implications of the proposed reform.
Credit: THE PUNCH
