The Senate on Wednesday passed a constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police across Nigeria, marking a significant step in the country’s ongoing efforts to reform its security architecture.
As reported by Daily Post, the upper legislative chamber approved the proposal after adopting a manual voting process following a technical malfunction of its electronic voting system.
Before deliberations on the bill, lawmakers expressed concerns that proceeding with the faulty electronic device could prevent some senators from participating in the exercise.
To ensure transparency and inclusiveness, the chamber resolved to conduct the vote manually.
Under the adopted procedure, senators were required to stand individually, announce their names and publicly state their positions on the proposed state police framework.
The motion for the adoption of manual voting was moved by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, and received the support of the lawmakers.
The passage of the bill represents a major milestone in the push for decentralised policing, a proposal that has generated widespread debate among stakeholders over its potential impact on security, governance and federalism in Nigeria.
The constitutional amendment will, however, undergo further legislative processes before becoming law.