State police: Constitutional amendment nears completion, says Presidency

The Presidency on Thursday declared that a constitutional amendment to establish state police is nearing completion.

It said deliberations among the executive, the National Assembly and security authorities had gained considerable traction after months of consultations.

Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, revealed this while briefing State House correspondents after a consultative meeting on state police convened at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement he signed on Thursday titled ‘State Police constitutional framework near completion-Presidency.’

The meeting was attended by the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau; the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; and the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, among other senior officials.

Gbajabiamila stated that the enabling legislation to operationalise the new structure would follow immediately after the amendment.

“We started deliberations in the last three or four months on how to go about the establishment of state police as directed by Mr President.

“Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of the fingers.

“There is a lot involved in terms of constitution and legalities, and thank God we have now gained a lot of traction,” the Chief of Staff said.

According to the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, “Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that.

“Right now, what we are looking at is the constitutional amendment itself, and then the enabling law would follow thereafter.

“That is what we have been deliberating on in the last couple of hours.”

He revealed that the debate had long moved past the question of whether state police should exist and was now focused entirely on the legal and institutional architecture for its operation.

Tinubu, he said, would receive a comprehensive report on the outcome of Thursday’s meeting.

The state police bill has been one of the most contentious constitutional matters since 1999, with northern governors and some civil society groups previously expressing reservations about the potential for abuse by state executives.

However, Tinubu had aggressively clamoured for its establishment, citing the deteriorating security environment, particularly the insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and communal violence in the North-Central region.

In separate meetings with governors and lawmakers during the Ramadan Iftar dinners, he had called on the legislature to support the agenda, calling it a major step in his security reforms.

He had also directed all parties to hasten the framework during a high-level meeting with Plateau State stakeholders in late April and reiterated the call in his third anniversary statement on May 29.