The Senate has defended the passage of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, insisting that national security must take precedence over politics as calls grow for a delay in its implementation.
The upper legislative chamber approved the constitutional amendment bill last Wednesday, paving the way for the establishment of state police across the country.
The move has attracted criticism from opposition figures. Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, urged that the implementation of state police be postponed until after the 2027 general election, warning that the new policing structure could be vulnerable to political abuse without adequate safeguards.
Similarly, Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) National Chairman, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, argued that President Bola Tinubu’s administration lacks the credibility to implement state police, describing the timing as inappropriate.
Responding to the criticism, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said the proposed legislation was driven by the urgent need to tackle Nigeria’s worsening security challenges and not by political calculations.
According to him, the State Police Bill is “a child of necessity, not political expediency,” adding that it emerged from broad national consensus rather than partisan interests.
Bamidele explained that the proposal formed part of memoranda submitted to the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution and underwent extensive consultations before its passage.
He said the National Assembly engaged the Executive, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures, the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force and other critical stakeholders. Public hearings were also held across the six geopolitical zones in July 2025.
He noted that nearly all stakeholders supported the establishment of state police after considering the country’s growing security challenges.
According to Bamidele, recommendations from the Nigeria Police helped lawmakers build strong accountability and oversight mechanisms into the bill to prevent political misuse of state police.
He added that the bill also enjoyed broad bipartisan support in the National Assembly, with lawmakers from the APC, PDP, ADC, NDC and Labour Party voting in its favour.
“In the Senate alone, 84 out of 109 members voted clause by clause in support of the Bill, representing over 77 per cent approval,” he said.
Bamidele stressed that insecurity affects every Nigerian regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity or religion, urging political leaders to place national security above partisan interests.
He also called on opposition parties to contribute constructive ideas that would strengthen peace, stability and national security rather than focusing solely on criticism.
