Nigeria Senate Leader Bamidele Urges First‑Line Funding for State Police

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said funding for the proposed state police services must be made a first‑line charge in the constitutional amendment. He argued that guaranteed financial autonomy would protect the forces from political, business or criminal interference and called for a specific percentage of state budgets to be earmarked for police operations.

House Speaker Abbas Tajudeen responded to concerns that governors could turn state police into private armies, explaining that the bill includes safeguards such as appointments made on the recommendation of the National Police Council, removal requiring a two‑thirds legislative vote, and the ability of the Federal Police to intervene under defined conditions. He noted that President Bola Tinubu has transmitted an executive bill to the National Assembly, proposing to rename the Nigeria Police Force as the Federal Police Service and to allow states that meet constitutional standards to establish their own police services, each overseen by independent State Police Service Commissions with direct funding.