The Ekiti and Kebbi State Houses of Assembly have endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment to pave the way for the establishment of state police, with Ekiti passing the bill and Kebbi lawmakers adopting a resolution in support of decentralised policing to tackle insecurity.
At least 13 states which include Osun, Edo, Oyo, Rivers, Zamfara, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Delta, Taraba, Cross River, Plateau and Enugu — had earlier passed the bill.
The endorsements by Ekiti and Kebbi bring the number of states that have endorsed the proposed amendment to 15.
The constitutional amendment requires the support of at least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 states, representing a two-thirds majority.
On Wednesday, the Kebbi State House of Assembly endorsed the proposed establishment of state police, with 20 lawmakers backing the initiative aimed at strengthening security and protecting lives and property across the country.
The resolution was adopted during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Salihu Dangoje, following deliberations on the proposal presented by the chairman of the House Committee on Internal Security, Muhammad Garba Bena.
Four members of the 24-member Assembly were reportedly absent from the session on official assignments.
Speaking after the plenary, Bena said the lawmakers supported the proposal because of the need to strengthen security operations and improve responses to threats in Kebbi State and other parts of Nigeria.
According to him, the proposed arrangement would empower state governments to establish their own police services and recruit personnel in line with the provisions of the law.
Bena said, “The establishment of state police will go a long way in strengthening security operations, improving responses to security threats and protecting lives and property in Kebbi State and Nigeria at large.”
The Speaker subsequently announced the House’s adoption of the resolution in support of the establishment of state police services.
In Ekiti State, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Babatunde Oke, said in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday that “following the passage of the bill, the Speaker of the Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye, had directed the Clerk of the House to transmit the document to the National Assembly, alongside the observations made by the state legislature.”
