Senate Passes State Police Bill, Moves to Reshape Nigeria’s Security Architecture

The Senate has passed a bill to establish state police nationwide, taking a major step toward amending the Nigerian Constitution, reshaping the country’s security system, and addressing long-standing calls for decentralised policing.

The upper chamber, during the plenary on Wednesday presided over by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, approved the bill titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Provide for the Establishment of State Police and for Related Matters” after it was considered by lawmakers as part of the ongoing constitutional review process.

The senators commenced deliberations on the bill following the letter written to them by President Bola Tinubu yesterday, seeking approval for the amendment to the constitution to create state police. The matter was referred for presentation of the report by the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, headed by Senator Jibrin Barau. The report recommended the creation of state police as part of broader efforts to strengthen internal security and tackle the rising wave of insecurity across the country.

Leading the debate on the bill, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, presented the principle of the bill, urging his colleagues to support the legislation, arguing that the centralised policing system had become overstretched and insufficient to effectively respond to the security challenges facing Nigeria.

According to him, the establishment of state police remains a critical reform aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s internal security architecture against the backdrop of growing concerns over the capacity of the Nigeria Police Force to effectively address emerging threats such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes, cultism, armed robbery, and cyber-enabled crimes.

Bamidele said the proposed reform would improve intelligence gathering at the grassroots level, noting that local police officers are better equipped to obtain actionable intelligence from communities because they understand local languages, customs, and social structures.

After extensive deliberations, the Senate passed the bill, signalling the growing support within the National Assembly for constitutional reforms that would allow states to establish and maintain their own police formations alongside the Federal Police.

Announcing the outcome, the Senate President said the chamber had approved the bill seeking to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for the establishment of state police and related matters in line with efforts to strengthen the country’s security framework.

Designed to improve public safety and strengthen law enforcement, one of the key functions of the bill is to provide for state police to exist alongside the federal police and to establish a constitutional framework for states that choose to create and maintain their own police service. The bill also seeks to define the powers and responsibilities of both the federal and state police, while making provisions for funding, oversight, and accountability.

Part of the proposed legislation outlines the functions of the Federal Police and empowers the National Assembly to make laws prescribing the structure, organisation, administration, and powers of the Federal Police. It also provides guidelines for the establishment, operation, and regulation of State Police by the states.

The proposed amendment further seeks to expressly forbid the Federal Police from interfering in the operations of any state police or the internal security affairs of a state, except in clearly defined circumstances. These include situations where there is a complete breakdown of law and order within a state, which the state police is unable to handle, or where the governor of a state formally requests the intervention of the Federal Police to prevent or contain such a breakdown.

It also provides that any such intervention by the Federal Police shall only be effective with the approval of a two-thirds majority of the Senate, a move aimed at safeguarding the autonomy of state police forces and preventing undue federal interference in state security matters.

The bill further empowers governors to appoint State Commissioners of Police on the recommendation of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving officers of the State Police, subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly. Similarly, the President would appoint the Inspector-General of Police on the advice of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving members of the Federal Police, subject to confirmation by the National Assembly.

In addition, the proposal gives governors the authority to issue lawful directives to State Commissioners of Police on matters relating to public safety and the maintenance of law and order. However, where a commissioner considers any directive unlawful or inconsistent with accepted policing standards, the matter may be referred to the Nigeria Police Council, whose decision would be final.

The bill also proposes amendments to relevant sections of the Constitution, including the replacement of references to the “National Police Council and the Federal Police Service Commission” with “Nigeria Police Council and the Police Service Commission,” in order to align the constitutional provisions with the new policing structure being proposed.

However, the law also allayed fears of possible abuse of the proposed policing structure; lawmakers incorporated safeguards aimed at protecting political freedoms and civil liberties.

Section 17(7) specifically 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”.

It also states in section 214 that the Federal Police Service may temporarily intervene in the internal security affairs of a State and may, to the extent necessary, assume specified operational responsibility, including temporary operational command of a State Police Service or any part thereof, only where – (a) there is an actual or imminent breakdown of public order or public safety which the State Police Service is unable or unwilling to contain; (b) the Governor of the State requests federal intervention, etc.

“An intervention under subsection (10) of this section shall be authorised in writing by the President and shall state the grounds, territory, functions and duration of the intervention; and notice of the intervention shall be given to the Governor of the State, the Speaker of the House of Assembly of the State, the National Police Council and the National Assembly within forty-eight hours of the start of any intervention. (13) No intervention under subsection (10) of this section shall continue beyond such period as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly unless approved by resolution of the Senate in the manner prescribed by that Act”.

The Reps Earlier Passed A Similar Bill

The Senate’s passage of the State Police Bill comes after the House of Representatives also approved a similar measure, indicating a growing legislative consensus in the two chambers of the National Assembly on the need to decentralise policing and allow states to play a greater role in securing their territories.

The development reflects a renewed push by lawmakers to address Nigeria’s worsening security crisis through constitutional reforms that would create a multi-layered policing system capable of responding more effectively to local threats and criminal activities across the federation.

Although the bill has now secured passage in the Senate, it is still part of the constitutional amendment process and would require concurrence in the harmonisation process, as well as approval by the required number of State Houses of Assembly, before it can become part of the Constitution and take full legal effect.

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