UPDATED: Senate passes state police bill, empowers governors to appoint police commissioners, give directives

The Senate on Wednesday passed the bill seeking to establish state police in Nigeria.

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The upper chamber approved the bill after considering the report of its Committee on the Review of the Constitution, presented by Barau Jibrin, its chairman.

The bill’s clauses were considered at the Committee of the Whole before its final passage.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the passage of the bill after more than two-thirds of the senators voted in support via a manual voting process by raising their hands.

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At the time the debate began, 87 senators were in attendance, exceeding the constitutionally required two-thirds majority needed to pass such an amendment. Two-third of the Nigerian 109-senate is 73.

The debate on the bill was led by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, before lawmakers proceeded to consider its various clauses.

The legislation seeks to establish a state policing structure that would operate concurrently with the existing federal police system.

However, Clause 17 of the bill, which deals with appointment, command, direction and tenure, provides that while the Federal Police Service shall be headed by the Inspector-General of Police, the State Police Service shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police appointed by the governor of the state, subject to confirmation by the state’s House of Assembly.

Section 17(6) states that a state governor may give lawful written directives of a general policy nature to the Commissioner of Police of the state on matters relating to the maintenance of public safety and public order.

Section 17(7) further provides that the Commissioner of Police of a state shall not arrest, detain, investigate or deploy force against any person, political party or group for criticising the government except in accordance with the law. This provision is intended to prevent the misuse of state police against political opponents or critics, ensuring that any action taken against such individuals or groups complies with due process and existing laws.

Section 17(8) provides that the Inspector-General of Police or a Commissioner of Police of a state may request the appropriate Police Service Commission to review any directive considered unlawful or inconsistent with national minimum standards. The provision further states that nothing in the section shall oust the jurisdiction of the courts.

Section 17(10) provides that a Commissioner of Police of a state shall not be suspended or removed except for a stated cause, in accordance with the principles of fair hearing, on the recommendation of the National Police Council and subject to approval by a resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of all members of the state’s House of Assembly.

With the Senate’s passage of the bill, it will now be transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence. If approved by the lower chamber, it will then be forwarded to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for ratification. For the constitutional amendment to take effect, it must be approved by at least two-thirds of the states, which translates to 24 state assemblies.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun and his counterparts from Ondo and Kaduna states, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Uba Sani, respectively, were present in the Senate chamber to observe the voting exercise.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Lateef Shittu, and attorneys-general of some states were also in attendance.

Amotekun, other informal security outfits to stop bearing firearms

In the absence of a formal state policing structure, several regions have established local security outfits, including Amotekun in the South-west, Ebube Agu in the South-east and Hisbah in parts of the North.

However, Section 25(5) of the bill provides that no existing local security outfit shall be transformed into a State Police Service or exercise policing powers. The provision also prohibits such outfits from bearing firearms.

“No existing state, local, community, vigilante, neighbourhood, traffic or other security outfits shall, by reason only of this Act, become a State Police Service or exercise police powers or bear firearms unless authorised in accordance with this Constitution and an Act of the National Assembly,” the section states.

The provision effectively means that existing regional security outfits such as Amotekun, Ebube Agu and Hisbah cannot automatically become state police agencies and will not be permitted to exercise police powers or carry firearms under the proposed law.

When federal police service can intervene in state police operation

Section 15(10) of the bill provides that the Federal Police Service may temporarily intervene in the internal security affairs of a state and assume specified operational responsibilities, including the temporary operational command of a State Police Service.

Under Section 15(10)(a), federal intervention may occur where there is an actual or imminent breakdown of public order or public safety that the State Police Service is unable or unwilling to contain.

The Federal Police Service may also intervene where:

* the governor of the state requests federal intervention;

* the State Police Service is unable to function due to serious administrative, financial, operational or other incapacity that creates an actual or imminent threat to public safety, public order, constitutional enforcement, or the protection of lives and property;

* there is substantial evidence that the State Police Service is being used for egregious or systematic violations of fundamental rights, partisan or electoral intimidation, ethnic, religious or sectional persecution, or the unlawful obstruction of the Constitution, an Act of the National Assembly, a law of a State House of Assembly, or a court order; or

* the situation poses a substantial threat to national security, the sovereignty or territorial integrity of the federation, or public safety across state boundaries.

Section 15(11) provides that any such intervention shall be temporary, necessary, proportionate and limited to the territory, functions and duration required to address the breakdown, incapacity or abuse.

Section 15(12) further states that the intervention must be authorised by the president, who shall specify the grounds, territorial scope, functions and duration of the intervention. Notice of the intervention must also be given to the governor of the affected state, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the National Police Council and the National Assembly within 48 hours of its commencement.

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Section 15(14) provides that the legality, scope, duration and conduct of any intervention shall be subject to judicial review. The provision further states that no intervention shall dissolve a State Police Service or suspend the elected institutions of a state except in accordance with the Constitution.

Creation of State Police Commission

Section 22 of the bill empowers the establishment of a State Police Service Commission, which shall be headed by a chairman. The commission is empowered to recommend qualified persons to the National Police Council for appointment as Commissioner of Police of a state.

The bill also authorises the commission to appoint persons to offices in the State Police Service, except for the office of the Commissioner of Police of the state.

In addition, the commission is empowered to promote, transfer, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over officers of the State Police Service, excluding the Commissioner of Police.

The commission is also mandated to perform oversight, complaints and accountability functions relating to the State Police Service in accordance with the Constitution, Acts of the National Assembly and laws enacted by the State House of Assembly. It may also perform such other functions as may be conferred upon it by the Constitution, an Act of the National Assembly or a state law.