The Yobe State House of Assembly has approved the proposed establishment of a State Police Service along with 25 other constitutional amendment bills transmitted by the National Assembly for state legislatures’ consideration.
The approval followed deliberations yesterday by lawmakers during plenary on 26 proposed alterations to the 1999 Constitution marking the assembly’s position on proposed changes to various provisions of the nation’s supreme law.
Speaking on the resolutions the Speaker of the House Rt. Hon. Chiroma Buba Mashio said the bills were forwarded to state legislatures to consider and vote on the proposed amendments in accordance with constitutional requirements.
Mashio explained that the proposed establishment of a State Police Service was intended to provide a constitutional framework for states to operate their own police services alongside the existing Nigeria Police Force.
He described the proposal as a significant component of ongoing national discussions on security sector reform aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to address emerging security challenges.
The Speaker noted that the proposed constitutional alterations were part of a broader legislative process requiring state assemblies to consider and approve the amendments in line with the provisions governing constitutional alteration.
Under the constitutional amendment process proposed changes must secure the approval of at least two-thirds of all state Houses of Assembly before they can be validly enacted.
The Yobe Assembly’s approval of the State Police proposal signals the legislature’s support for the proposed constitutional framework which seeks to decentralise policing by allowing states to establish their own police services.
The proposal has featured prominently in national conversations on security reforms particularly amid calls for a policing structure that can respond more effectively to local security concerns while complementing the existing federal policing system.