The Senate in session. Photo Credit: Senate
The Senate has intensified efforts to establish state police, declaring that the constitutional amendment required to decentralise policing across the country will be prioritised this week.
Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, said the National Assembly had resolved to fast-track the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution, describing the creation of state police as a necessary response to the nation’s worsening security challenges.
Bamidele, who disclosed this in an interview in Abuja on Monday, said the proposal enjoyed broad support from President Bola Tinubu, state governors and other stakeholders, adding that there was now a national consensus on the need to establish state police.
The renewed push comes amid growing concerns over terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal violence across the country, with recent attacks, including the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State and attacks on military men across the regions, further strengthening calls for a decentralised policing system.
