The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Executive Bill seeking to establish state police.
The bill was approved during plenary after lawmakers considered and adopted its provisions. Earlier, the House had withdrawn its own version of the state policing proposal to deliberate on the executive bill transmitted by President Bola Tinubu, which was subsequently passed through first and second readings.
The development comes as efforts to amend the Constitution to create state police continue to gather momentum.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has cautioned that the creation of state police alone will not resolve Nigeria’s security challenges.
Speaking on TVC News’ Beyond The Headlines on Wednesday, Fashola said the country must also address broader structural and governance issues.
He said, “Like I said during my intervention on June 12, if and when the State Police becomes constitutionally permissible, it is not the silver bullet to the problem we face today. It is going to take about six months. If you use the current model of police training, they spend six months in police academy, your first intakes are six months away.”
According to Fashola, while state policing could improve security architecture, expectations should be managed as the reform would require time to implement and would not produce immediate results.
