The Senate on Wednesday adopted a set of constitutional safeguards aimed at preventing state governors from abusing the proposed state police structure for partisan, ethnic, religious or personal interests.
Leading debate on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said the proposed amendments would establish clear accountability measures while balancing state policing autonomy with federal oversight.
Bamidele explained that the bill, which seeks to decentralise policing in Nigeria, would empower the National Assembly to prescribe minimum standards on recruitment, training, promotions, discipline, use of force, firearms management, complaints procedures and professional conduct for state police services.
According to him, the proposed framework would retain the Nigeria Police Force for federal responsibilities, including counter-terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime, border security, arms trafficking and other national security matters, while state police would focus on enforcing state laws and maintaining public safety within their jurisdictions.
He also outlined conditions under which federal police could intervene in state security matters, including a breakdown of public order, inability of state police to function effectively, serious violations of fundamental rights, electoral intimidation and threats to national security.
Bamidele noted that any such intervention would require written authorisation from the President and would be subject to Senate oversight and judicial review.
Lawmakers who supported the bill argued that worsening insecurity across the country had strengthened the case for the establishment of state police.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Eyinnaya Abaribe, said he had previously opposed state police but now believed it had become necessary in view of prevailing security challenges.
Similarly, former Sokoto State Governor and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing, Waziri Tambuwal, reiterated his longstanding support for state police, while Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno urged broad backing for the constitutional amendment.
The Senate said the proposed framework is designed to create a modern policing system capable of addressing contemporary security threats while preventing abuse of power at the sub-national level.
That’s the difference: a press statement gets rewritten into a news report, while speeches/interviews are usually kept much closer to the original text.
Ademide Adebayo
