State Police Bill: Understanding workings of the law to retool security framework

Incorporates safeguards in bill aimed at protecting political freedoms, civil liberties

Kaduna gov allays fears of possible abuse of state police

Emeka Agu Jnr with agency reports

The Senate on Wednesday expeditiously passed the State Police Bill which sought to move Nigeria from a unitary policing structure to a federal policing mode.

The passage of the bill followed the clause by clause consideration of the bill by the committee of the whole of the Senate.

The bill is entitled: “A bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for State Police and Related Matters, 2026”.

According to the report of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, the bill allows states to create their own police services, subject to national minimum standards.

“And constitutional safeguards and federal oversight in defined exceptional circumstances”.

“The bill represents one of the most significant institutional reforms proposed in the current constitutional review cycle.

“Its core objective is to move Nigeria from a unitary policing structure to a federal policing model that allows states to create their own police services.

“It is important to highlight that restructuring national security and policing frameworks is a key thematic area the committee has presented to Nigerians as a matter of serious national importance.

“This is in fulfilling its mandate to propose constitutional amendments that enhance national security and promote effective governance”.

A key provision of the bill empowers state governors to appoint Commissioners of Police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by the state Houses of Assembly.

Under Clause 17 of the proposed constitutional amendment, “A State Police Service shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police of the State appointed by the Governor of the State on the recommendation of the National Police Council, subject to confirmation by the House of Assembly of the State and to such qualifications and national minimum standards as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly”.

The bill also defines the operational relationship between governors and state police commands. Section 17(6) provides that “a governor may issue lawful written directives of a general policy nature to the Commissioner of Police on matters relating to the maintenance of public safety and public order within the state”.

To allay fears of possible abuse of the proposed policing structure, lawmakers incorporated safeguards aimed at protecting political freedoms and civil liberties.

Section 17(7) specifically states that “a state Commissioner of Police shall not arrest, detain, investigate or deploy force against any person, political party or group merely for criticizing the government except in accordance with the law”.

The provision is designed to prevent state police formations from being used against political opponents, activists, journalists and other dissenting voices, while ensuring that any action taken complies with due process and existing legal provisions.

It also states in section 214, that the “The Federal Police Service may temporarily intervene in the internal security affairs of a State and may, to the extent necessary, assume specified operational responsibility, including temporary operational command of a State Police Service or any part thereof, only where – (a) there is an actual or imminent breakdown of public order or public safety which the State Police Service is unable or unwilling to contain; (b) the Governor of the State requests federal intervention etc.

“An intervention under subsection (10) of this section shall be authorised in writing by the President and shall state the grounds, territory, functions and duration of the intervention; and notice of the intervention shall be given to the Governor of the State, the Speaker of the House of Assembly of the State, the National Police Council and the National Assembly within forty-eight hours of the start of any intervention. (13) No intervention under subsection (10) of this section shall continue bevond such period as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly unless approved by resolution of the Senate in the manner prescribed by that Act”.

Earlier, while presenting the lead debate, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele said the bill was an Executive Bill transmitted by President Bola Tinubu seeking to alter the Constitution to provide for the establishment of State Police Services and other related matters.

He said the bill represented one of the most significant constitutional reforms in our nation’s democratic evolution.

“It addresses a long-standing national conversation on the structure, effectiveness, responsiveness and sustainability of policing in the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

“It is common knowledge that Nigeria is a vast federation, comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory with diverse cultures, languages, geographical terrains, security dynamics and socio-economic conditions.

“The increasing complexity of security threats, which include terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal conflicts, farmer-herder clashes, cybercrime, organised criminal networks and other transnational crimes, have placed enormous pressure on the existing policing framework”.

In his remarks, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio said “It is my prayer that Nigerians will become safer and that the challenges of kidnapping, banditry and terrorism will not only be minimised but reduced to the barest minimum.

“I am confident that Nigeria shall overcome terrorism and banditry and so shall it be”.

Meanwhile, Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has dismissed concerns that state police could be used by governors to intimidate opposition figures and suppress dissent in their states.

Sani spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, hours after the Senate passed a bill seeking to establish state police services across the federation.

The Kaduna governor, one of several governors advocating the establishment of state police to empower states to tackle rising insecurity, said concerns about possible abuse had been addressed in the bill.

“I can tell you today that you can appoint the commissioner of police but you cannot sack him, that is the issue. You can’t even sack him by the state assembly, no,” Sani said on the programme.

“It must be with the approval of the Police Service Commission or Police Council as well as the National Assembly together with the State Assembly. So, there are a lot of safeguards to stop the abuse. It is there in that Act.”

Sani said he strongly believed that the establishment of state police would be embraced by Nigerians, adding that there was nothing political about the proposal.

He said the initiative was aimed solely at improving the protection of lives and property, expressing optimism that state police would help address insecurity in the country.