Kogi Assembly Passes State Police Bill, Cites Security, Job Creation

The Kogi State House of Assembly has unanimously passed the proposed constitutional amendment for the establishment of state police in Nigeria, citing the need to strengthen internal security, improve emergency response and create employment opportunities for youths.

The Speaker of the House, Aliyu Umar Yusuf, disclosed this during plenary deliberations on the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police across the country.

Yusuf described the consideration of the bill as a significant legislative milestone, noting that it provided the Assembly with an opportunity to contribute to the national discourse on improving the protection of lives and property.

He said the growing incidence of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts, political thuggery and other criminal activities had underscored the need to explore additional measures to address the country’s security challenges.

According to him, the increasing complexity of security threats requires a more decentralised policing structure that would enable states to respond swiftly to security concerns within their jurisdictions.

The Speaker recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had proposed the constitutional amendment to the National Assembly, where it was considered and passed by both chambers before being transmitted to state Houses of Assembly for consideration and voting in accordance with Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

He explained that state police would enable state governments to recruit personnel familiar with their local communities and the peculiar security challenges confronting them.

Such personnel, he said, would be better positioned to gather intelligence, identify suspicious movements and respond promptly to distress calls, thereby complementing the operations of the Nigeria Police Force.

Yusuf added that decentralising policing would reduce administrative bottlenecks and improve operational efficiency, particularly in communities requiring urgent security intervention.

He also identified employment generation as another potential benefit of the proposed arrangement, noting that the recruitment of young people into state police formations could help address unemployment and its associated social challenges.

Contributing to the debate, lawmakers expressed support for the proposed amendment, arguing that state police would bring security operations closer to the people and facilitate quicker responses to emergencies.

They maintained that recruiting personnel from local communities would enhance intelligence gathering, as officers familiar with their environments would be better equipped to identify unfamiliar persons and movements that could pose security threats.

The lawmakers further argued that state police would help curb criminal activities and strengthen the existing federal policing structure, which they described as overstretched by its responsibilities across the country.

Yusuf urged his colleagues to support the bill, stressing that their decision would demonstrate the Assembly’s commitment to public safety, effective governance and the search for lasting solutions to Nigeria’s security challenges.

He said the proposed amendment offered Kogi State an opportunity to contribute to the development of a more effective security framework capable of addressing emerging threats.

The Speaker added that supporting the bill would demonstrate the lawmakers’ readiness to embrace reforms aimed at tackling persistent insecurity.

At the end of deliberations, the Assembly unanimously passed the bill and directed the Clerk of the House to communicate its decision to the National Assembly.