National Assembly Divided As Senate, House Pass Separate State Police Proposals

The Senate and the House of Representatives are to start harmonisation of the different versions of the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking the establishment of state police before transmitting the legislation to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for approval.

It was gathered that the House of Representatives passed the bill on June 10 while the Senate approved the Executive Bill transmitted by President Bola Tinubu on June 24.

The proposed amendment to the constitution will need to be approved by at least two-thirds of the Houses of Assembly of the states before it can be presented to the President for assent.

The Senate version of the bill has 26 clauses, while the House version has 18, with significant differences in several constitutional amendments proposed by both chambers.

Comparison of the two versions showed that while the House made limited amendments to Sections 34, 35, 39, 42, 89, 129, 153 and 197 of the Constitution, the Senate amended Sections 84, 89, 121, 124, 129, 157, 158, 160, 197, 201 and 202.

Both chambers introduced a new section 214 to replace the existing constitutional provision for the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force. But the Senate added 15 new sub-clauses to the section, versus seven in the House version.

The two chambers also differed on the structure of Section 215, which concerns the appointment and control of the police.

Though the Senate named the provision, “Appointment, Command, Direction and Tenure” and designated the head of a state police command as “Commander”, the House kept the title “Appointment of Inspector-General of Police and Commissioner of Police of a State,” describing the head of the state police as “Commissioner of Police.”

Similarly, both houses replaced Section 216 with brand new provisions but gave different duties.

The Senate named the section “National Police Standards, Oversight and Accountability” while the House adopted “Removal of Inspector-General of Police and Commissioner of Police of a State.

The Senate version also includes seven transitional provisions for the setup of state police and substantial amendments to the Second, Third and Fourth Schedules of the Constitution, while the House amended only the Second and Third Schedules.

Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman, House Committee on Constitution Review, said a conference committee would be constituted after the House resumes from recess on July 7 to harmonise the differences

House spokesman Akin Rotimi also confirmed that the committee would harmonise the two versions before the final document is transmitted to the states.

Kalu said the bill was a culmination of extensive consultations between the Executive and other stakeholders.

“Actually, it’s an Executive Bill at the moment. We have dealt with it in the House of Representatives and the Senate has followed suit. “Where we are now is we’re going to have what we call the conference committee because we practise bicameral legislation,” he said.

To him, the Senate and House versions are basically identical, with just some drafting differences.

“There is no fundamental. “But we need to be in tandem for it to be a consolidated piece of legislation from National Assembly,” he added.

Kalu said he was confident the harmonisation process would be completed shortly after lawmakers resume.

“Once we return from recess on July 7, the House will establish the conference committee. If there is any need to convene an emergency meeting before then, the leadership of the National Assembly will consider it.”

“Once we’re finished, we’re going to hand it over to the states the same day. It will be a ceremonial handing over where we invite the Speakers of the state Houses of Assembly and formally present the bill to them.

“I think the groundwork has been laid by the governors and it should be back within a week when it gets to them for Mr President’s assent,” he said.

The deputy speaker said the proposal had received wide national support including from state governors and the Conference of Speakers which has promised to ensure speedy consideration by state legislatures.

The proposed legislation includes safeguards to prevent abuse of the state police by governors and ensure adherence to national policing standards, Kalu said.

The National Police Council will establish the minimum standards. Any state seeking to establish a police service must satisfy those requirements prior to certification.

“States are free to go higher than those standards, but the minimum benchmark is needed to ensure professionalism and accountability,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the state was ready to establish its own police service once the bill becomes law, noting that Lagos would tap from the experience of retired security chiefs to beef up its security architecture.