ABUJA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's Senate has passed a bill establishing state police services to address the security challenges facing Africa's most populous country.
Once signed into law by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the bill, passed on Wednesday evening, will shift the West African nation from a unitary policing structure to a federal model that allows individual states to establish and operate their own police services.
Speaking during debate at the Senate plenary, Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele described the legislation as an executive bill transmitted by Tinubu and said that it represented "one of the most significant constitutional reforms in the nation's democratic evolution."
The Senate said the measure was necessitated by the growing complexity of security threats across the country, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal violence, farmer-herder clashes, cybercrime, organized criminal networks and other transnational crimes, which have placed increasing pressure on the existing policing system.
With a population of more than 242 million, Nigeria is a federation comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is characterized by diverse cultures, languages, geographical conditions, security challenges and socio-economic circumstances. ■
