About 30 Nigerian states approve local police
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on ThisDay and Leadership
Thirty-four Nigerian state assemblies have approved a constitutional amendment to create local police services, exceeding the required threshold of 24 states, according to ThisDay and Leadership. The assemblies of Katsina and Borno are still considering the bill. Senate President Godswill Akpabio says the reform could bring security forces closer to communities and strengthen the fight against insecurity, according to ThisDay.
The assemblies of Lagos, Bauchi, Niger and Sokoto approved the bill on Wednesday, bringing to 34 the number of states in favour of amending the 1999 Constitution, according to ThisDay and Leadership. The total exceeds the constitutional threshold of 24 states required to begin the revision and create local police services.
The assemblies of Katsina and Borno have not yet adopted the bill. In Katsina, the bill passed two readings before being referred to a special committee chaired by the majority leader, Aminu Magaji, the state assembly’s public relations officer, said, according to Leadership. The committee must make recommendations before further deliberations, but the assembly is currently on parliamentary recess. Borno is also continuing to consider the bill.
The number of assemblies in favour had risen from 24 on 23 October to about 30 before the approval of the four new states, Leadership reports. Senate President Godswill Akpabio had said that Nigeria could establish this decentralised system in less than a month. He presented the reform as a way to bring police closer to communities and strengthen the fight against insecurity, while specifying that state-controlled forces would complement existing security structures, according to ThisDay. The Senate must also consider funding for the future state police.
