Olushola Omogbehin
Nigerian Senate has passed the Constitution Alteration Bill that is seeking the establishment of state police, thereby commencing the aged long debate about decentralising policing system.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, disclosed the passage of the legislation after majority of the lawmakers supported the proposal during plenary.
The red chamber approved the bill after a rigorous step-by-step consideration of the bill and the report of the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution, presented by Deputy Senate President and committee chairman, Barau Jibrin.
Afterwords, more than two-thirds of senators voted in support through a manual voting process conducted on the floor of the chamber.
Leading the debate on the legislation was Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, who appealed to senators to support what many lawmakers called a critical reform with the aim of strengthening internal security.
An important provision of the bill which seek to establish a state policing framework that would operate concurrently with the existing federal police system, “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, “while the Federal Police Service will continue to be headed by the Inspector-General of Police, each State Police Service shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature of the state.”
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.”
Addressing the fear of many Nigerians over the abuse of state police by state governments, some measures aimed at protecting political freedoms and civil liberties were added.
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 criticising the government except in accordance with the law.”
This section is aimed at preventing state police formations from being use as a weapon against political opponents, activists, journalists or dissenting voices and ensures that any action taken must comply with due process and existing legal provisions.
Following concern over technical challenge, lawmakers adopted manual voting process after a motion made by Bamidele, who said that every senator should be given an equal opportunity to participate in the historic vote.
Supporting Senator Opeyemi’s posiyion, Akpabio maintained that an open voting system would not only guarantee full participation but also enhance transparency by allowing Nigerians to know where their representatives stood on critical constitutional issues.
Senators were individually called to publicly announced their votes during the consideration of the constitutional amendment bills.
