Again, Senate Defends State Police, Insists Bill Has Strong Safeguards Against Abuse

*Bamidele says decentralised policing imperative to tackle worsening insecurity

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, has once again, put up a robust defence for the proposed State Police Bill, insisting that the legislation contained comprehensive constitutional safeguards to prevent possible abuse by governors as envisaged in some quarters.

He also said the proposed legislation would provide Nigeria with a more effective security architecture to combat terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

Responding to criticisms trailing the constitutional amendment seeking to establish state police formations, Bamidele in a statement in Abuja, argued that the country’s highly centralised policing system had become overstretched and no longer possessed the operational capacity required to respond to the growing security challenges across the federation.