A new attempt to restructure Nigeria’s security system has been signalled by President Bola Tinubu’s formal forwarding of a constitutional amendment bill to the Senate, requesting legal support for the creation of state police.

In order to permit individual states to establish and run their own police agencies within a regulated framework, the proposed law aims to change provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

The most recent action takes place in the context of growing calls for a policing system that provides states more authority over internal security issues and deteriorating security issues in some regions of the nation.

Tinubu has stated on multiple occasions that the current security system needs to be reorganised in order to allow the federal and state governments to work together more closely to combat crime.

In order to combat terrorism, banditry, abduction, and other criminal acts, the President encouraged MPs earlier this year to adopt constitutional amendments that would allow state police.

Tinubu insisted in his Democracy Day speech that his government was still dedicated to bringing security and peace back to the nation.

He cited a decrease in terrorism-related fatalities and claimed that thousands of terrorists had been killed in the previous year.

The President acknowledged that more work needs to be done to enhance security operations, nevertheless, given the ongoing kidnappings of pupils in several regions of the nation.

The bill comes at a time when the National Assembly is debating more extensive constitutional amendments, such as plans to change Nigeria’s security system.

Governors would have the authority to create police agencies suited to the security requirements of their states, subject to constitutional checks and oversight procedures, if the measure receives the necessary backing from legislators and state assemblies.

State police supporters think the system would enhance intelligence collection and guarantee quicker reactions to local security issues.

However, some worry that police formations under state control can be used for political ends.

It is anticipated that the new legislation will spark heated debates in the Senate as lawmakers examine how it will affect Nigeria’s federal structure and security administration going forward.