The Senate has passed the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police in Nigeria, marking a major step in ongoing efforts to decentralise policing and strengthen internal security across the country.
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The bill was passed on Wednesday after lawmakers voted clause by clause on the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution.
The passage followed a dramatic switch from electronic to manual voting after the Senate’s electronic voting device developed a technical fault.
Concerns had been raised that some lawmakers could be disenfranchised if the chamber proceeded with the faulty electronic voting system.
To address the situation, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, moved a motion for the adoption of manual voting.
Under the procedure, each senator was required to stand, announce his or her name and openly declare a position on the proposed state police framework.
Bamidele said the manual process was necessary to guarantee transparency and ensure that every senator participated in the major constitutional exercise.
“There is a need to also ensure transparency both within ourselves as people that will be performing this major constitutional responsibility, as well as members of the public,” he said.
“Rather than go by way of electronic voting, which obviously is not the case today, and disenfranchise a few or so of our colleagues whose machines are not working.
“I am moving that we give every distinguished senator the opportunity to answer his or her father’s name by doing manual voting,” he added.
The motion was seconded by Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, and adopted by the chamber.
Lawmakers said the manual voting process would not only prevent disenfranchisement but also make each senator’s position known to constituents.
The bill seeks to create a constitutional framework for state-controlled police forces to operate alongside the Nigeria Police Force.
If eventually approved by the National Assembly and endorsed by the required number of state Houses of Assembly, the amendment would pave the way for state governments to establish and manage their own police formations under the constitutional structure.
The Senate’s consideration of the bill comes amid repeated calls for policing reforms and greater involvement of state governments in tackling kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, communal violence and other security challenges across Nigeria.
Several prominent government officials were present in the Senate chamber to observe the proceedings.
They included Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; and the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Their presence followed a reversal by the Senate after an initial decision to reject the admission of governors and other senior officials into the chamber.
Under Senate rules, only senators are ordinarily allowed on the floor of the chamber, while visitors observe proceedings from the gallery.
The initial rejection briefly delayed proceedings as the invited officials waited at the entrance to the chamber.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio later appealed to senators to reconsider the decision, stressing the importance of allowing key stakeholders to witness deliberations on the state police bill.
Akpabio noted that any constitutional amendment establishing state police would require approval by state Houses of Assembly, and said governors should be allowed to follow the debate closely because of their central role in the next stage of the process.
He also said the proposal originated from the executive arm of government and that many of the invited guests were senior executive officials.
Following Akpabio’s appeal, Bamidele moved another motion seeking the suspension of Order 12 of the Senate Rules on floor privileges to admit the visitors as strangers.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin supported the motion and commended Akpabio for what he described as an inclusive leadership style.
Jibrin said admitting the governors and senior officials into the chamber would encourage broader participation in discussions on the proposed state police framework.
The Senate subsequently approved the motion, allowing the invited officials to observe the clause-by-clause voting.
With the passage of the bill by the Senate, the proposed amendment will still require further constitutional steps before state police can become operational.
Under the amendment process, constitutional alteration bills must secure the required approval of both chambers of the National Assembly and be endorsed by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly before presidential assent.
The development represents one of the most significant legislative moves toward restructuring Nigeria’s policing architecture, as debates continue over accountability, funding, command structure, safeguards against abuse and the relationship between state police formations and the existing Nigeria Police Force.
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