Kogi Assembly approves state police

By Boluwaji Obahopo, Lokoja ‎ ‎The Kogi State House of Assembly on Tuesday unanimously approved a proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police in Nigeria, citing the need to tackle insecurity, strengthen local intelligence gathering and create employment opportunities for youths. ‎ ‎Speaker of the House, Aliyu Umar Yusuf, announced the decision on Tuesday during plenary deliberations on the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to provide for the establishment of state police across the country. ‎ ‎Yusuf described the passage of the bill as a significant step towards strengthening the country’s security architecture, noting that the growing threats to lives and property required more effective and responsive policing mechanisms. ‎ ‎He identified terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder clashes, political thuggery and other criminal activities as persistent security challenges that had made the need for decentralised policing increasingly urgent. ‎ ‎According to the Speaker, allowing states to establish their own police formations would enable them to respond more quickly to security threats within their jurisdictions. ‎ ‎He explained that state police officers recruited from local communities would have a better understanding of the terrain, residents and peculiar security challenges, enhancing intelligence gathering and the early detection of suspicious movements. ‎ ‎Yusuf recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had initiated the proposed constitutional amendment, which was considered and passed by both chambers of the National Assembly before being transmitted to state Houses of Assembly for consideration in line with Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. ‎ ‎The Speaker said the proposed arrangement would enable state governments to recruit personnel familiar with their communities, thereby improving responses to distress calls and complementing the operations of the Nigeria Police Force. ‎ ‎He added that decentralising policing could reduce administrative delays and improve operational efficiency, particularly in communities where urgent security interventions were required. ‎ ‎Beyond security, Yusuf identified youth employment as another major benefit of the proposed state police system. ‎ ‎He noted that recruiting young people into state police formations could provide employment opportunities while helping to address some of the social challenges associated with unemployment. ‎ ‎Contributing to the debate, lawmakers unanimously supported the proposal, arguing that bringing policing closer to the people would improve public safety and enhance the effectiveness of security operations. ‎ ‎They maintained that officers drawn from local communities would be better positioned to identify unfamiliar persons, monitor suspicious movements and provide timely intelligence to security agencies. ‎ ‎The lawmakers also argued that state police would help reduce the pressure on the existing federal policing structure, which they described as overstretched by its nationwide responsibilities. ‎ ‎Yusuf urged his colleagues to support the amendment, stressing that their decision would demonstrate the Assembly’s commitment to effective governance, public safety and sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s security challenges. ‎ ‎He said the proposed reform presented an opportunity for Kogi State to contribute to the development of a more responsive security framework capable of addressing emerging threats. ‎ ‎At the conclusion of deliberations, the Assembly unanimously approved the bill and directed the Clerk of the House to formally communicate its decision to the National Assembly.