Legal, Funding Issues Must Be Addressed For State Police To Work – Ndume

Senator representing Borno South Senatorial District, Ali Ndume, has expressed support for the proposed creation of state police services across the country but warned that critical legal, operational and funding issues must be resolved before its implementation.

Speaking during an appearance on ARISE News Channel’s Prime Time show, the lawmaker said while governors across the country had unanimously endorsed the establishment of state police, several practical concerns required careful consideration.

Ndume noted that the legal framework, funding structure and operational procedures for state police must be clearly defined to ensure effectiveness and avoid jurisdictional conflicts.

According to him, “The governors sat down unanimously before now to approve or to support the creation of state police. My major concern, not from my aspect as you know, because I’m a learned person, is the intricacies, the implications, the law, the legal aspect.

“How do you synchronise it? How do you source their funds? You know, how do they operate?”

The lawmaker also raised concerns about inter-state jurisdiction and how state police forces would handle criminal suspects who move across state boundaries.

“If a thief is running from Kaduna State, like here now, the Federal Capital Territory will have its own police, right? By the time the criminal runs over to Nasarawa State, how do you cross the border and all the rest of it to pick him up?

“Yeah. But when you pick him up, so you’re a suspect now? These issues need to be looked into critically,” he said.

LEADERSHIP recalls that in a historic move aimed at addressing Nigeria’s worsening security challenges, no fewer than 87 senators on Wednesday voted in support of a constitution amendment bill seeking to establish state police services across the federation.

The move aims to bring the country closer to a decentralised policing system for the first time since after independence.

The passage of the State Police Bill marks a major milestone in Nigeria’s decades-long debate over devolving policing powers from the federal government to the states to strengthen security, improve intelligence gathering, and enhance local law enforcement.

The legislation scaled through after rigorous clause-by-clause consideration by the Senate sitting at the Committee of the Whole, following the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on the Review of the 199 Constitution, chaired by Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the passage of the bill after more than the constitutionally required two-thirds majority voted in support of the proposal.

The bill seeks to establish a dual policing structure comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services operating concurrently across the country.