The Senate has defended the passage of the State Police Bill, insisting the legislation is driven by national security needs rather than political interests amid criticism from Peter Obi and Hakeem Baba-Ahmed
Senate Defends State Police Bill, Says Security Must Override Politics
The Senate has defended its decision to pass the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, insisting that the legislation is a response to Nigeria’s worsening security challenges and should not be viewed through a political lens.
The upper chamber’s position comes days after it approved the constitutional amendment seeking to establish state police across the country, a move that has sparked sharp reactions from opposition figures over concerns that governors could misuse the proposed security structure for political purposes.
Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, had on Friday urged that the implementation of state police be postponed until after the 2027 general election. Obi argued that introducing the new policing system before the elections could expose it to political manipulation if adequate safeguards were not first put in place.
On the same day, the National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, questioned the credibility of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to oversee the implementation of state police, describing the timing as inappropriate. Speaking during Channels Television’s Politics Today, Baba-Ahmed said, “This is the worst possible time” for the Federal Government to introduce state police.
Responding to the criticisms, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, in a statement issued on Sunday, maintained that the bill was driven solely by the urgent need to tackle insecurity across the federation.
According to Bamidele, the proposed legislation was “purely a child of necessity and not of political expediency as well as a product of national consensus and not of cynicism.”
The senator representing Ekiti Central explained that the state police proposal was not a recent initiative but emerged from memoranda submitted to the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution. He said lawmakers subjected the proposal to extensive consultations because of its sensitive nature.
Bamidele disclosed that the National Assembly engaged the Executive, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force and other stakeholders before arriving at its decision. He added that public hearings were also conducted across the country’s six geopolitical zones in July 2025.
“At each level of our consultation, nearly all stakeholders embraced the State Police Bill in the light of stark realities we are facing today,” he said.
He noted that recommendations from the Nigeria Police played a significant role in shaping accountability and oversight provisions designed to prevent governors or other political actors from abusing state police powers.
“The resolve of the Nigeria Police to support the Bill obviously highlights its strategic national significance to deal with insecurity at local and state levels,” Bamidele added.
The Senate Leader further stressed that the legislation received robust debate in both chambers of the National Assembly before securing approval, insisting that support for the bill cut across party lines.
“Even though the APC is the majority, there are members of opposition parties – PDP, ADC, NDC and Labour Party – that exercised their discretion in favour of the Bill, mainly in the national interest and not on a parochial basis,” he said.
Highlighting the level of support, Bamidele revealed that “In the Senate, for instance, 84 out of 109 members voted clause by clause in support of the Bill. This accounted for 77.06% approval at the Senate alone.”
He argued that security should never become a partisan issue because every Nigerian stands to benefit regardless of ethnicity, religion or political affiliation.
“Political actors elsewhere always throw off their togas of partisanship and parochialism to support initiatives that will boost and reinforce national security,” he stated.
Bamidele also challenged opposition parties to move beyond criticism by offering constructive ideas that could strengthen peace and security across the country.
“Even when they disagree on some grounds, they are under obligations to provide credible and useful ideas that can make our Nation better and greater. Unfortunately, they have not passed this critical test of opposition democracy,” he added.
