Bill on state police passes second reading at House of Reps

Nigeria moved another inch closer to having state police on Tuesday, as the House of Representatives passed a bill for the establishment of state police for second reading.

Sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu and 14 others, the bill seeks to alter the relevant Sections of the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for states to establish their own policing outfits.

As lawmakers took turns to contribute to the debate on the floor of the House during Tuesday’s plenary, Kalu who stood in for the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, urged members to look beyond political ambitions and think about the safety of Nigerians and Nigeria.

READ ALSO:Obi backs creation of state police, says ‘it’s a welcome development

In his own contribution, Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos) said: “It is the job of the police to maintain law and order. We have a population of over 200 million people but we have a police strength that is less than 400,000. State Police should be created to address the internal security challenges of Nigeria.”

It will be recalled that at a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the 36 state governors on Thursday last week, a committee was set up to consider the establishment of state police in the country to help combat the growing cases of insecurity.

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