Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has dismissed concerns that state police could be used by governors to intimidate opposition figures and suppress dissent in their states.
Sani spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, hours after the Senate passed a bill seeking to establish state police services across the federation.
The Kaduna governor, one of several governors advocating the establishment of state police to empower states to tackle rising insecurity, said concerns about possible abuse had been addressed in the bill.
“I can tell you today that you can appoint the commissioner of police but you cannot sack him, that is the issue. You can’t even sack him by the state assembly, no,” Sani said on the programme.
“It must be with the approval of the Police Service Commission or Police Council as well as the National Assembly together with the State Assembly. So, there are a lot of safeguards to stop the abuse. It is there in that Act.”
Sani said he strongly believed that the establishment of state police would be embraced by Nigerians, adding that there was nothing political about the proposal.
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He said the initiative was aimed solely at improving the protection of lives and property, expressing optimism that state police would help address insecurity in the country.
President Bola Tinubu had on Tuesday transmitted to the Senate a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of state police services across the federation. The upper chamber passed the bill on Wednesday.
When assented to by the president, the legislation will replace the existing Nigeria Police Force framework with a dual structure comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services.
The bill was considered after Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele presented its general principles. It subsequently scaled second reading, was considered clause-by-clause and passed third reading.
Its passage followed a clause-by-clause consideration of the bill, with more than two-thirds of senators voting in support.
A key provision of the bill empowers state governors to appoint commissioners of police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by the state Houses of Assembly.
To allay fears of possible abuse of the proposed policing structure, lawmakers incorporated safeguards aimed at protecting political freedoms and civil liberties.
