Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has assured Nigerians that the National Assembly is incorporating safeguards into the proposed state police framework to prevent governors from abusing the new security structure once it becomes operational.
Bamidele gave the assurance on Wednesday while speaking with State House correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He was accompanied by Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
Addressing concerns that state governors could misuse state police for political purposes, the Senate Leader acknowledged the fears but said lawmakers were taking deliberate steps to ensure adequate checks and balances.
“There will always be fears and concerns, but whether the concerns are well-founded is another issue altogether.”
“Most importantly, we are putting mechanisms in the law as we amend the Constitution that would prevent or minimize instances of abuse by state governors.”
Bamidele noted that while some safeguards would be entrenched in the Constitution, additional provisions would be included in amendments to the Police Act to regulate the operations of state police forces.
“And as much as possible, I believe that not everything can go into the Constitution.”
“In the amendment to the Police Act that will follow, we will spell out more details—details that cannot possibly go into the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Describing state policing as a necessary response to Nigeria’s growing security challenges, the Senate Leader said there was broad consensus among state governors on the need for the reform.
“We all must know state police is a child of necessity.”
“All of us are on the same page that there’s a need for this.”
Also speaking, Governor Oyebanji said governors across the country were prepared to support the constitutional amendment establishing state police. He disclosed that most states had already submitted their positions on the proposal and pledged that state Houses of Assembly would give the bill expedited consideration once transmitted by the National Assembly.
The proposed legislation seeks to establish a decentralised policing system as part of broader efforts to strengthen internal security while introducing legal safeguards to prevent political interference and abuse of authority by state governments.
