The Senate on Wednesday passed the bill seeking to create state police in Nigeria.

The upper chamber approved the bill after reviewing the report of its Committee on the Review of the Constitution, presented by its chairman, Barau Jibrin.

The clauses of the bill were reviewed at the Committee of the Whole before it was finally passed.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the passage after more than two-thirds of senators voted in favour through a manual vote by raising their hands.

At the start of the debate, 87 senators were present, surpassing the constitutionally required two-thirds majority for such an amendment. Two-thirds of Nigeria’s 109-member Senate is 73.

The debate on the bill was led by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele before lawmakers moved on to review its various clauses.

The law seeks to establish a state policing framework that will operate alongside the existing federal police system.

However, Clause 17 of the bill, which covers appointment, command, direction and tenure, provides that while the Federal Police Service will be led by the Inspector-General of Police, the State Police Service will be led by a Commissioner of Police appointed by the state governor, subject to confirmation by the state House of Assembly.

Section 17(6) states that a state governor may issue lawful written directives of a general policy nature to the state Commissioner of Police on matters concerning the maintenance of public safety and public order.

Section 17(7) further provides that a state Commissioner of Police shall not arrest, detain, investigate or deploy force against any person, political party or group for criticising the government except in line with the law. This provision is designed to prevent the misuse of state police against political opponents or critics, and to ensure that any action taken against such persons or groups follows due process and existing laws.

Section 17(8) provides that the Inspector-General of Police or a state Commissioner of Police may ask the relevant Police Service Commission to review any directive deemed unlawful or inconsistent with national minimum standards. The provision also states that nothing in the section removes the jurisdiction of the courts.

Section 17(10) provides that a state Commissioner of Police shall not be suspended or removed except for a stated reason, in line with the principles of fair hearing, on the recommendation of the National Police Council and subject to approval by a resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of all members of the state House of Assembly.

With the Senate’s passage of the bill, it will now be sent to the House of Representatives for concurrence. If approved by the lower chamber, it will then be forwarded to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for ratification. For the constitutional amendment to take effect, it must be approved by at least two-thirds of the states, which equals 24 state assemblies.

Premium Times earlier reported that Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and his counterparts from Ondo and Kaduna states, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Uba Sani, respectively, were present in the Senate chamber to witness the voting.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Lateef Shittu, and attorneys-general of some states were also in attendance.

Amotekun, other local security outfits to be barred from carrying firearms
In the absence of a formal state policing structure, several regions have set up local security outfits, including Amotekun in the South-west, Ebube Agu in the South-east and Hisbah in parts of the North.

However, Section 25(5) of the bill provides that no existing local security outfit shall be converted into a State Police Service or exercise policing powers. The provision also bars such outfits from carrying firearms.

“No existing state, local, community, vigilante, neighbourhood, traffic or other security outfit shall, by virtue of this Act alone, become a State Police Service or exercise police powers or carry firearms unless authorised in accordance with this Constitution and an Act of the National Assembly,” the section states.

The provision effectively means that existing regional security outfits such as Amotekun, Ebube Agu and Hisbah cannot automatically become state police agencies and will not be allowed to exercise police powers or carry firearms under the proposed law.

When the federal police service can intervene in state police operations
Section 15(10) of the bill provides that the Federal Police Service may temporarily intervene in the internal security affairs of a state and take over specified operational responsibilities, including temporary operational command of a State Police Service.

Under Section 15(10)(a), federal intervention may occur where there is an actual or imminent breakdown of public order or public safety that the State Police Service is unable or unwilling to manage.

The Federal Police Service may also intervene where:

• the state governor requests federal intervention;
• the State Police Service is unable to operate due to serious administrative, financial, operational or other incapacity that creates an actual or imminent threat to public safety, public order, enforcement of the Constitution, or the protection of lives and property;
• there is substantial evidence that the State Police Service is being used for gross or systematic violations of fundamental rights, partisan or electoral intimidation, ethnic, religious or sectional persecution, or the unlawful obstruction of the Constitution, an Act of the National Assembly, a law of a State House of Assembly, or a court order; or
• the situation poses a substantial threat to national security, the sovereignty or territorial integrity of the federation, or public safety across state borders.

Section 15(11) provides that any such intervention must be temporary, necessary, proportionate and limited to the area, functions and period required to address the breakdown, incapacity or abuse.

Section 15(12) further states that the intervention must be authorised by the president, who will specify the grounds, territorial scope, functions and duration of the intervention. Notice of the intervention must also be sent to the governor of the affected state, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the National Police Council and the National Assembly within 48 hours of its commencement.

Section 15(14) provides that the legality, scope, duration and conduct of any intervention shall be subject to judicial review. The provision further states that no intervention shall dissolve a State Police Service or suspend the elected institutions of a state except in accordance with the Constitution.

Creation of State Police Commission
Section 22 of the bill authorises the establishment of a State Police Service Commission, which will be headed by a chairman. The commission is empowered to recommend qualified persons to the National Police Council for appointment as Commissioner of Police of a state.

The bill also authorises the commission to appoint persons to positions in the State Police Service, except for the position of Commissioner of Police of the state.

In addition, the commission is empowered to promote, transfer, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over officers of the State Police Service, excluding the Commissioner of Police.

The commission is also mandated to carry out oversight, complaints and accountability functions relating to the State Police Service in line with the Constitution, Acts of the National Assembly and laws passed by the State House of Assembly. It may also perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Constitution, an Act of the National Assembly or a state law.