By Anayo Akwitti
The Senate has passed the bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for the establishment of state police services across Nigeria, marking a significant step in the country’s long-running debate on decentralised policing
The process attracted observation and monitoring by the Chief of Staff to the president, Rt Hon femi Gbajabimilla, Some state governors and some attorney general of some states
The proposed legislation, transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu and read by Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, scaled after more than six hours of debate on the floor of the upper chamber.
Lawmakers eventually adopted a manual voting process following reported technical glitches with the electronic voting system.
Leading the debate, Bamidele described the bill as a landmark constitutional reform designed to address the growing security challenges confronting the country and strengthen the nation’s federal structure.
According to him, the amendment seeks to create a dual policing framework comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services for states willing to establish their own police institutions through legislation.
As a constitutional amendment, the proposal must secure the approval of two-thirds of both chambers of the National Assembly and be ratified by at least 24 State Houses of Assembly before it can become law.
The senate president , Godswill Akpabio said the amendment bill when passed will redesign the security architecture of Nigeria and reduce insecurity
