The National Assembly has transmitted the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police services to President Bola Tinubu for assent after securing approval from 30 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly.
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The development moves Nigeria closer to a decentralised policing system that would allow states to establish and manage their own police services alongside the federally controlled Nigeria Police Force.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, had earlier announced during Wednesday’s plenary that 29 state assemblies had approved the proposal and that the Clerk to the National Assembly would transmit the bill to the President.
“The State Police Bill has received the backing of 29 State Assemblies. Later today, the Clerk to the National Assembly will transmit it to the President for assent,” Kalu said.
However, during proceedings in the Senate, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele subsequently disclosed that the number of approving state assemblies had risen to 30.
The 30 approvals exceed the constitutional requirement of not less than two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, equivalent to 24 states, required for the proposed constitutional alteration to proceed.
The states listed as having approved the proposal are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.
The bill seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution to provide a legal framework for the creation of state police services and decentralise policing responsibilities between the Federal Government and the states.
Under the proposed arrangement, state governments would be empowered to establish and manage police structures within their jurisdictions, while the Federal Government would retain the Nigeria Police Force.
Supporters of the proposal have argued that decentralised policing would enable states to respond more effectively to kidnapping, banditry, communal violence and other security challenges peculiar to their communities.
Bamidele explained that the constitutional amendment process involved passage by the National Assembly, approval by at least two-thirds of the state assemblies and presidential assent.
“Passage of the bill was meant to be done by the National Assembly, which was done, and approval is meant to be done by at least two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly in the country, and assent is to be given by the President to complete this process,” he said.
Despite the required threshold already being surpassed, the Senate gave the remaining state assemblies until November 15 to communicate their positions on the proposal.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio said any state assembly that failed to respond by the deadline would be regarded as having withheld its approval.
“They should be given more time. Let’s give them till November 15 to respond,” Akpabio said.
The Senate unanimously adopted the position.
The National Assembly, however, proceeded with the transmission of the bill after the required number of approvals had been obtained.
A notice from the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, indicated that 29 approvals had been received as of the close of business on Tuesday, November 3, before the number subsequently increased to 30 on Wednesday.
The bill now awaits President Tinubu’s consideration and assent, which would complete the current legislative process towards introducing state police under the Constitution.
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