Enugu Assembly approves state police plan

The Enugu State House of Assembly has agreed to support the creation of state police.

The lawmakers made this decision during their meeting on Tuesday. Speaker Uche Ugwu shared the news in a Facebook post earlier today.

Mr Ugwu, who represents Udi North State Constituency, stated that members voted in favor of the bill to change the Nigerian constitution for establishing state police.

“This will go a long way in addressing the issues surrounding our internal security,” he said.

The speaker praised the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government. He said it showed courage by listening to the “heartbeat of Nigerians” and supporting the state police initiative.

The push for state police has been on for over two decades as Nigeria faces many security problems.

This topic has split opinions among Nigerians. Some worry that state governors might misuse the power, while supporters believe the benefits are worth the risks.

President Bola Tinubu has also made state police a key part of his plan to tackle insecurity in Nigeria.

On June 11, there was a glimmer of hope when the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill to amend the constitution for state police across the country.

Shortly after, the Senate also passed the bill.

But the bill still needs the backing of 24 out of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies and the president's signature to become law.

In early October, Nnadubem Moghalu, Secretary of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, reported that four states had approved the constitutional amendment for state police in Nigeria.

Mr Moghalu listed the four states as Edo, Oyo, Osun, and Rivers.

With this recent support, Enugu State has now joined the states that approved the creation of state police.

It is not clear if more states have also given their approval, but PREMIUM TIMES reports that state assemblies started discussing the bill after the National Assembly sent it to them for the constitutional change.

The state police bill aims to create a system where individual state governments have their own police forces, in addition to the existing Nigeria Police Force controlled by the federal government.

The plan is to make policing more accessible to communities. This way, officers can respond faster to local security issues and understand their communities better.