By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Senate has passed the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police across the federation and would empower governors to appoint police commissioners.
The passage followed a rigorous clause-by-clause consideration of the bill and came after more than two-thirds of senators voted in support through a manual voting process conducted during plenary on Wednesday, June 24.
The bill’s passage, announced by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, marks a major step in Nigeria’s long-time debate over decentralising the country’s policing structure to address worsening insecurity across the country.
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 chairman of the committee, 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.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, led the debate on the legislation and urged senators to support what many lawmakers described as a critical reform aimed at strengthening internal security and improving response to local threats.
The legislation seeks to establish a state policing framework that would operate concurrently with the existing federal police system, effectively ending the exclusive control of policing by the Federal Government.
A key provision of the bill “empowers state governors to appoint Commissioners of Police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by the state Houses of Assembly.”
Clause 17 of the proposed constitutional amendment provides that “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 bill further outlines the operational relationship between governors and state police commands.
Section 17(6) provides 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 address concerns over potential abuse of the new policing structure by state governments, lawmakers included safeguards aimed at protecting political freedoms and civil liberties.
Section 17(7) states 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 intended to prevent state police formations from being weaponised against political opponents, activists, journalists or dissenting voices and ensures that any action taken must comply with due process and existing legal provisions.
During Wednesday’s plenary, the Senate abandoned plans to deploy an electronic voting system for the consideration of the State Police Bill and other constitutional amendment proposals.
Instead, the lawmakers adopted a manual voting process following concerns that technical glitches affecting some voting devices could disenfranchise senators and undermine the integrity of the exercise.
The decision followed a motion made by Bamidele, who argued that every senator should be given an equal opportunity to participate in the historic vote.
Akpabio backed the proposal, insisting that an open voting system would not only guarantee full participation but also promote transparency by allowing Nigerians to know where their representatives stood on critical constitutional issues.
Following the adoption of the motion, senators were called individually to publicly declare their votes during the consideration of the constitutional amendment bills.
Present to witness the passage of the bill on the floor of the Senate were several senior government officials, including the Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani; Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebaji; and the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and many state AGFs were also at the Senate.
The passage of the bill follows the Senate’s passing of the Police Trust Fund Bill on Wednesday to seek alternative ways of providing adequate funding for the police and strengthening security measures to combat criminality.
