The House of Representatives passed a bill establishing state police in the country for the second time on Tuesday.
The measure, sponsored by Deputy Speaker of the House Benjamin Kalu and 14 others, aims to amend pertinent sections of the 1999 Constitution to allow states to form their policing agencies.
As MPs took turns contributing to the debate on the floor of the House during Tuesday’s plenary, Kalu, who stood in for Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, asked members to go above political ambitions and consider the safety of Nigerians and the country.
Also speaking, Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos) said, “It is the police’s responsibility to maintain peace and order. We have a population of more than 200 million, but our police force is less than 400,000. State police should be established to solve Nigeria’s internal security concerns.
REPORTERS AT LARGE earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu and state governors are exploring the establishment of state police. They recently resolved this at a meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
While briefing journalists following the meeting, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, explained that the process is still in its early stages and will only take shape after more deliberations among stakeholders.
