The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday approved a bill to allow states to have their own police forces, paving the way for a major reform that would reshape the policing structure of the West African nation.
The proposed constitutional change will decentralise the country’s police force, which is currently controlled by the federal government, but has been overstretched by an escalating insecurity crisis. The state police forces will operate alongside the federal police.
A lack of police presence in vast rural areas has worsened the country’s security woes. Criminal gangs and terrorists have killed tens of thousands of people, according to the United Nations.
The change would allow each of the country’s 36 states to create a police force that meets a minimum national requirement while the federal police retains control of counterterrorism, border patrol, organised crime, and other national security issues.
President champions security reforms
The legislation, which enjoys bipartisan support and is being championed by the president, has long been considered a solution to the mushrooming conflicts across the country and has been debated multiple times in the past.
State governors are considered the top security chiefs of their states but do not have operational command.
Two-thirds of the state assemblies still have to approve the bill since it includes a change to the constitution.
