Senate And House Of Reps Move Forward With Different State Police Bills

The Senate and the House of Representatives are to commence the 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.

The House of Representatives had on June 10 passed the bill, and the Senate had on June 24 approved the Executive Bill transmitted by President Bola Tinubu.

The amendment to the constitution will have to be passed by not less than two-thirds of the Houses of Assembly of the states before it is referred to the President for assent.

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

Comparison of the two versions revealed that the House made limited amendments to Sections 34, 35, 39, 42, 89, 129, 153 and 197 of the Constitution, while 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, compared to seven in the House version.

The two chambers also had different views on the structure of Section 215, which relates to the appointment and control of the police.

The Senate called the provision “Appointment, Command, Direction and Tenure” and called the head of a state police command “Commander” while the House kept the title “Appointment of Inspector-General of Police and Commissioner of Police of a State” and described the head of the state police as “Commissioner of Police.”

Likewise, both chambers replaced Section 216 with brand new provisions but gave different duties.

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

The Senate version also contains seven transitional provisions for the establishment 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.

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

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

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

“Actually, it is an Executive Bill right now. We’ve handled it in the House of Representatives, and the Senate has done the same. “Where we are now is that 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 the same, with just some drafting differences.

“There’s nothing fundamental. “But we need to be in tandem for it to be a unified piece of legislation from the National Assembly,” he added.

“I am confident that the harmonisation process will be completed shortly after the lawmakers resume,” Kalu said.

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

“When we’re done, we’re going to turn 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 hand the bill to them.

“I think the governors have done the groundwork already 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 enjoyed broad national support including from state governors and the Conference of Speakers which has pledged to ensure speedy consideration by state legislatures.

According to Kalu, the proposed legislation has built-in safeguards to prevent abuse of the state police by governors and to ensure compliance with national policing standards.

The National Police Council will set the minimum standards. Any state seeking to establish a police service shall meet such requirements prior to certification.

“States are free to go above those standards, but the minimum benchmark is necessary 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. He noted that Lagos would tap from the experience of retired security chiefs to beef up its security architecture.