Senate Passes State Police Bill

The Senate on Wednesday passed the constitutional amendment bill seeking the establishment of state police in Nigeria, marking a significant step in the country’s ongoing efforts to reform its security architecture.

The bill was approved during plenary after lawmakers voted on the proposed amendments.

Earlier, the Senate adopted manual voting for the consideration of the bill following a technical fault in the electronic voting system.

The decision was taken after concerns were raised that some senators could be disenfranchised if proceedings continued with the malfunctioning device.

Under the manual voting procedure, senators were required to stand individually, announce their names and openly state their positions on the proposed state police framework.

Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, moved the motion for the adoption of manual voting, arguing that the process would ensure transparency and allow every lawmaker to participate in the exercise.

However, the constitutional amendment will still require approval by the House of Representatives and endorsement by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly before it can become law.