Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has cautioned that the proposed state police system could be vulnerable to manipulation by politicians, wealthy individuals, private organisations and criminal elements if adequate funding and legal safeguards are not put in place.

Bamidele gave the warning on Thursday while speaking at the ARISE NEWS Townhall on State Police, stressing that financial independence would be crucial to the success of any state-controlled policing structure.

According to the Senate leader, a poorly funded state police system could easily become subject to undue influence, undermining its effectiveness and credibility.

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“It’s not only state actors or politicians that can abuse this. Business class, some other organisations, even criminals can abuse it, because he who pays the piper dictates the tune,” he said.

Funding Key To Effective State Police

Bamidele maintained that the viability of state police would depend largely on the availability of sustainable funding backed by law rather than the discretion of state governments.

“If the state police is not well funded, it may as well be a highway to nowhere,” he stated.

He proposed that the legal framework establishing state police should provide guaranteed funding through statutory allocations.

“We must have a situation where there will be some first-line provisions in our law. The police chief and the police service commission must have a guaranteed source of income in a way that it will not be subject to the whims and caprices of a sitting governor,” Bamidele said.

The lawmaker suggested that legislation could mandate a fixed percentage of state budgets to be dedicated to policing, with clear guidelines governing the management and disbursement of the funds.

Constitutional Amendment Won’t Force States To Establish Police

Bamidele clarified that the constitutional amendment currently under consideration by the National Assembly would not compel every state to immediately establish its own police force.

According to him, the proposal simply seeks to move policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List, thereby granting states the constitutional authority to create state police if they choose.

“It’s not every state that will immediately, after we finish amending this constitution, go to town to say, ‘We’re launching our state police.’ All we are trying to achieve with this constitutional amendment is to move this duty from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list,” he explained.

Lawmaker Calls For Strong Safeguards

The Senate Majority Leader acknowledged widespread concerns over the possible abuse of state police, describing such fears as legitimate and deserving of serious attention.

“The various concerns that have been expressed from different quarters are well-founded concerns that we cannot sweep under the carpet or pretend that they are not real,” he said.

He stressed that lawmakers must incorporate robust accountability measures into the legal framework establishing state police to prevent political interference and abuse of power.

“When it comes to issues of accountability, it’s something that will have to be addressed, both at the level of legislative intervention through the law, as well as vigilance on the part of the Nigerian people,” he added.

Bamidele also noted that constitutional amendments alone would not be sufficient, saying further changes to the Police Act and other relevant laws would be required to define the operational structure of state police and its relationship with existing security agencies.

Local Government Autonomy Crucial

The Senate leader argued that the primary objective of state police is to strengthen community policing and improve security at the grassroots level.

“The whole essence of trying to emphasise the move for state policing is because we want community policing,” he said.

However, he warned that meaningful local government autonomy must accompany the reform for it to achieve its intended objectives.

“If we do not address the issue of local government autonomy, we will not have achieved much, even with the creation of state police,” Bamidele said.

He added that the National Assembly has studied international best practices while developing a minimum national standard to guide the operation of state police across the country.

According to him, Nigeria has reached a stage where the establishment of state police has become necessary, but its success will depend on strong legislation, adequate funding and effective safeguards against abuse.