Opeyemi Bamidele: Senate Targets This Week to Pass State Police Bill

• Says Tinubu, governors back proposal as constitution amendment heads to state assemblies

• Explains National Assembly will isolate bill from broader review to accelerate approval

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Senate has concluded plans to fast-track the constitution amendment process for the establishment of state police, with the proposal expected to be passed this week and transmitted to the 36 states Houses of Assembly for ratification.

Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed on Monday that the National Assembly had resolved to isolate the state police bill from the broader ongoing constitution review process in order to hasten its passage in response to growing national security concerns.

Bamidele, in a statement issued by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, said there was now a broad national consensus on the need to decentralise policing and establish state police structures across the federation.

According to him, the proposal enjoys the backing of President Bola Tinubu, state governors, state legislatures, and other key stakeholders, raising hopes that one of Nigeria’s most contentious constitutional debates may soon be resolved.

He described the legislative week commencing on Tuesday as crucial, revealing that the senate has placed the state police bill at the top of its agenda.

Bamidele stated, “Our position is very clear on state police. We are standing with Nigerians on the issue of state police. All strata of the federation have made it clear that there cannot be a better time to establish a state police than now.”

He added that lawmakers had resolved to translate the growing public demand into constitutional reality by ensuring speedy legislative action.

He stated, “We came to the conclusion that we are going to pass the constitutional amendment in this respect to make a provision for the state police.

“If I can tell you as of today, that will come to fruition this very week because there is no need to allow any further delay.”

The move represents one of the most significant constitutional reforms currently before the National Assembly and comes amid persistent concerns over insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes across various parts of the country.

Nigeria currently operates a centralised policing structure under Section 214(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that there shall be only one police force for the federation, known as the Nigeria Police Force.

Advocates of state police have long argued that the existing structure has become overstretched and inadequate for addressing complex security challenges across the country’s diverse regions.

Opponents, however, expressed concerns about possible abuse by state governments.

Bamidele said extensive consultations among critical stakeholders had helped to build consensus around the proposal and address many of the concerns previously raised against it.

He disclosed that senior officials of the National Assembly had in recent weeks engaged key actors within the executive and security sectors to fine-tune the framework for the proposed reform.

Bamidele stated that Chairman of Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Barau Jibrin, and Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Review, Benjamin Kalu, had participated in a series of meetings with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief of Staff to the President, and Inspector-General of Police.

He said the consultations were aimed at ensuring a coordinated approach to the constitution amendment process and smoothing the path for its eventual implementation.

“What we have resolved to do is to isolate it with the rest of the bills that we have proposed under constitutional amendment so that we can vote on this as soon as possible,” Bamidele said.

He explained that once approved by the National Assembly, the bill would immediately be transmitted to the state legislatures, where it must secure the support of at least two-thirds of the 36 states Houses of Assembly before it could be presented to the president for assent.

“The bill can as well be on its way to the 36 State Houses of Assembly as soon as possible because we will need two-thirds of the state assemblies to approve it before the president can assent to it,” he said.

Bamidele expressed confidence that the proposal would scale the constitutional hurdles ahead, citing widespread support among governors and lawmakers at both federal and state levels.

He said, “The president is also with us on this proposal. I am sure he cannot wait for the bill to come to him for assent. I am sure the majority of our governors are in support of this bill.

“The state assemblies are also waiting for this bill to come.”

The latest development follows earlier disclosures by Chief of Staff to the President, Gbajabiamila, that Tinubu would soon receive a comprehensive report on the proposed creation of state police as consultations on the constitutional framework for its establishment approached completion.

If successfully enacted, the amendment would mark a historic shift in Nigeria’s security architecture, ending decades of exclusive federal control of policing and opening the way for states to establish and manage their own police services within a constitutionally defined framework.