The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has said the National Assembly decided to expedite legislation on the establishment of state police due to population growth and emerging threats in the country.
Bamidele further disclosed in an article he penned that the state police would be properly funded by the Federal Government.
He said: “At this point, we are confronted with two fundamental choices. The first deals with the choice of retaining the country’s heavily centralised police structure that can no longer respond decisively to the starkest realities of our federation. This does not suggest that the Nigeria Police has not discharged its core mandates well before now.
“But it is because the new security environment demands an entirely new approach given our population size and the emerging threats. It is also because the present police structure often limits the ability of subnational authorities to respond effectively and promptly to security challenges within their jurisdictions.”
Bamidele said the country could not continue with the present security structure considering the cost of internal challenges that now threaten the nation’s vital, strategic, and peripheral interests more than at any time in recent history.
He added: “The cost of retaining such an overstretched structure far outweighs its benefits in all ramifications. We have canvassed this position over and over again, especially amid the escalation of armed violence in different parts of the federation.
“We have lost innocent lives in hundreds, even in thousands. Businesses have been crippled while families have been displaced from their comfort zones. Governments – both national and subnational – have suffered huge economic haemorrhage to these recurrent security challenges.”
Speaking on the funding of state police, Bamidele explained that funds meant for state police would be paid directly to the State Police Service Commission.
This, he said, is to prevent funding gaps that could affect operations and response times of state police officers.
He wrote: “The bill goes beyond the mere creation of the State Police Service Commission for the purpose of effective regulation. It equally provides for the financial autonomy of the state police service.
“The bill recommends that any amount standing “to the credit of a State Police Service Commission established for a State shall be paid directly to the Commission.
“This intends to prevent a situation whereby a state police service will be starved of funds, a situation that can create gaps in police operations and responses.”
