BREAKING: Tinubu transmits State Police Bill to Senate for constitutional amendment

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally transmitted a Constitution Alteration Bill to the Senate seeking the establishment of state police across Nigeria.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to create the legal and institutional framework for the operation of state-controlled police forces within the federation.

The move represents a major step in ongoing efforts to restructure Nigeria’s security architecture and expand the role of state governments in maintaining law and order within their territories.

The President has repeatedly advocated constitutional reforms that would grant states greater responsibility in tackling security challenges. In February, Tinubu urged the National Assembly to fast-track constitutional amendments to facilitate the creation of state police, insisting that Nigeria’s current security realities require a more decentralised policing system.

According to the President, state police would complement existing federal security structures and improve responses to terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities across the country.

Supporters of the proposal argue that state policing would enhance intelligence gathering, improve community-based security operations and enable faster responses to local threats.

However, critics have expressed concerns that state police formations could be abused by political office holders and used to suppress opposition voices if adequate safeguards are not included in the constitutional framework.

The bill is expected to undergo legislative scrutiny in both chambers of the National Assembly, where lawmakers will examine its provisions and implications for Nigeria’s federal structure, governance system and national security framework.

If passed by the National Assembly and ratified by the required number of state Houses of Assembly, the amendment would pave the way for one of the most significant security reforms since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.

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