The Senate has defended the passage of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, insisting that national security should take precedence over political considerations.
On Wednesday, the upper legislative chamber approved the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police across the country.
The move drew criticism on Friday after Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), called for the implementation of state police to be delayed until after the 2027 general election.
Obi warned that the proposed policing structure could be vulnerable to political abuse if introduced without sufficient safeguards.
Also reacting, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, national chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), argued that President Bola Tinubu’s administration lacks the credibility to implement state police, describing the timing as inappropriate.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Opeyemi Bamidele, senate leader, said 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”.
Bamidele said the push for state police is a response to pressing security challenges and should not be stalled by political interests or personal ambitions.
The senator representing Ekiti Central explained that the process leading to the bill’s passage began long before its recent approval.
He said the proposal was part of memoranda submitted to the senate ad hoc committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution and underwent broad consultations due to its sensitive nature.
According to him, the National Assembly engaged the executive arm, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, among other stakeholders.
Bamidele added that public hearings were also held across the 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 helped lawmakers build accountability and oversight mechanisms aimed at preventing political misuse of state police.
“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,” he said.
Bamidele further stated that the bill underwent extensive debate in both chambers of the National Assembly before it was passed.
“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 parochial basis,” he said.
“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.”
Bamidele stressed that security issues should rise above partisan interests, noting that insecurity affects all Nigerians 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 said.
He also urged opposition parties to offer constructive ideas that would strengthen peace and stability rather than focusing solely on criticism.
“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.