State Police: Senate sets deadline for state assemblies to transmit resolutions

The Senate on Wednesday fixed 15 November as the deadline for state Houses of Assembly to transmit their resolutions on the proposed creation of state police to the National Assembly.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the deadline during plenary after senators endorsed the decision through a voice vote.

According to the Senate, the states yet to transmit their resolutions on the proposal are Kano, Oyo, Cross River, Abia, Niger and Benue. However, records show five states have passed the proposal in their respective states, except Niger State.

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, read out the names of the 30 states that have approved the proposal so far and transmitted their resolutions to the National Assembly.

The states 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.

Mr Bamidele urged the remaining states to transmit their resolutions before the deadline, describing the development as a positive step for Nigeria’s democracy, the government and Nigerians.

Background

On Tuesday, the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, announced that 28 state Houses of Assembly had approved the establishment of state police and transmitted their resolutions to the National Assembly.

The announcement indicated that the proposal had met the constitutional requirement of approval by at least two-thirds of the 36 state assemblies, equivalent to 24 states.

However, Mr Bamidele’s announcement on Wednesday said 30 states had transmitted their resolutions.

The National Assembly can now proceed with the remaining stages of the constitutional amendment process, including harmonising the versions passed by both chambers before transmitting the bill to the president for assent.

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The proposal was transmitted to the state assemblies in September for consideration as part of the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution.

It seeks to establish state police services that would operate alongside the existing federal police system.

Under the proposed framework, state governors will appoint commissioners of police, subject to confirmation by their respective Houses of Assembly. Governors would also be empowered to issue directives to state police on matters relating to insecurity.

While the federal police would continue to be headed by the Inspector-General of Police, each state police service will be headed by a commissioner appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state assembly.

The proposal, however, prohibits the conversion of existing local security outfits into state police services or the exercise of police powers by such outfits under the new framework. It also bars them from bearing firearms.

Such outfits include Amotekun in the South-west, Ebube Agu in the South-east and Hisbah in parts of northern Nigeria.