Senate begins drafting for law on state police
Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, on Sunday, revealed that the National Assembly is currently working on a legal framework that will empower each state to establish its own police force to address the rising wave of insecurity across the country.
Bamidele disclosed this in his Easter message released in Abuja.
His comments come in the wake of killings in Plateau, Benue, Borno, and some parts of the South-East in recent weeks.
PUNCH Online reports that on Saturday, a former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), also urged Nigerians to defend themselves against bandits and criminals, warning that relying solely on the government for protection is no longer realistic.
Bamidele, however, expressed optimism that the introduction of state police would help address the increasing spate of killings and communal clashes.
The senator representing Ekiti Central also called on security agencies to intensify efforts in apprehending and prosecuting individuals responsible for killings, kidnappings, and destruction of property in various parts of Nigeria.
He said, “The recent killings in Benue and Plateau States outrightly negate the virtues of peace and love that Jesus Christ taught during His days.
“The recurrent utterances by some political and sectional figures also belie the values of courage, perseverance, and tolerance He evidently lived for.
“No country develops when one section rises against another and vice versa.
“While the National Assembly is in the process of developing legal frameworks for the establishment of state police as one of the measures to address insecurity in the country, we urge security agencies to work together as a team to track and apprehend all the masterminds and sponsors of terror attacks nationwide.
“We appeal to some political actors who always latch onto the country’s challenges to push divisive narratives to learn from the example of Jesus Christ. Such actors are no longer playing opposition politics, but simply taking advantage of the country’s internal conditions in pursuit of their own parochial political outcomes.”
Speaking further, the Senate Leader reaffirmed the commitment of the 10th Assembly to the actualisation of the state police initiative.
Bamidele also pleaded with Nigerians to refrain from infringing on the rights of others under the guise of religion, ethnicity, or partisan politics.
“This is evident in all the legislative initiatives we have been pushing since the inception of the 10th National Assembly. Our goal is to build a federation that will be recognised for peace, progress, and prosperity across the globe.
“Regardless of their ethnicity, politics, or religion, all stakeholders should shun divisive utterances and join forces against the common enemies of Nigeria rather than subvert our collective efforts to build a strong and united nation,” he urged.
