The Senate has commenced moves to finally create state police. To this end, it has directed its Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution to submit a constitution amendment bill for the creation of state and community police within the next two weeks.
The committee is chaired by the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.
It was gathered that the Senate leadership promised to pass the bill before lawmakers embark on annual recess by the end of July.
The resolution was sequel to a motion moved on Tuesday by Jonah Jang (PDP, Plateau State) on the recent killings in Plateau State.
Prayers for creation of state police was moved by Solomon Adeola (APC, Lagos State) and seconded by Olusola Adeyeye (APC, Osun State).
During the debate, lawmakers described the current centralization of policing in Nigeria as a collosal failure and stressed the need urgent need to amend the constitution to allow for state and community police.
The Senate also resolved to fast-track in two weeks pending bills on police reforms and that of National Truth and Reconciliation Commission to ensure a peaceful dialogue among communities, ethnicities and religious groups in the country.
While calling for the overhaul of security architecture in the country, the upper legislative chamber also resolved that security officers such as military commanders, police officers and community leaders stationed in any locality attacked across Nigeria should henceforth be held responsible when attacks happen within their areas of jurisdiction.
Moving the motion, Jang disclosed that over 155 persons were killed in attack by herdsmen out of which 98 were from Mangu Local Government.
The former Plateau State Governor said the way the attackers executed the killings unhindered, indicated the need for decentralization of the nation’s security.
Seconding the motion, Ekweremadu said as long as the country refused to establish state police, the wanton killings in the land will continue.
“I have been saying it here anytime issues of senseless killings in the land come up that creation of state police is the way out since the centralized police have proved to be incapable of addressing the problem.
“By tomorrow (today) or next, a bill for constitutional provision for state and community policing, shall be sponsored by me in this chamber,” he said.
Other Senators like Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Lagos), Godswill Akpabio, (PDP, Akwa Ibom), Barnabas Gemade (APC, Benue), threw their weight behind the call for state police.
In his remarks, Senate President, Bukola Saraki who presided over the session said: “The killings are totally unacceptable and we must condemn it in totality. These are acts of criminality and we should not encourage any other colouration to it. Be it religious, this is criminality and as such we have a role to ensure that we must address this criminality .
“We believe there is need for urgent review of the security architecture.
“We must not only see from the point of view that there is danger to security there is also danger if we really believe that we are going to push our economy, it is going to become stagnant”.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
