By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The Senate has thrown its weight behind the establishment of state police following fresh attacks on schools in Borno and Oyo states, where students and teachers were abducted in separate incidents within 24 hours.
Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, on Sunday, said the worsening security crisis across the country had made the decentralisation of policing unavoidable, stressing that the National Assembly was already at an advanced stage of constitutional amendments to legalise state police.
The latest attacks occurred in Borno and Oyo states, further heightening fears over the safety of schools and students across the country.
In Borno State, suspected Boko Haram insurgents reportedly invaded Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area and abducted 42 students.
Similarly, gunmen reportedly stormed schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, kidnapping teachers and pupils from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in Esiele.
Reacting to the incidents, Bamidele described the abductions as a tragic assault on Nigeria’s future and called for urgent reforms to strengthen internal security.
“The incessant abduction of students and teachers is a tragic national concern that negates our national development indices. We cannot and must not allow it to continue,” Bamidele said in a statement issued through his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs.
“At the National Assembly, we will rise against this trend and put an end to it through the instrumentality of legislation,” he added.
Bamidele, who also serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, disclosed that work on the constitutional amendment to allow states to establish their own police formations was nearing completion.
According to him, lawmakers would conclude deliberations on the proposal immediately after plenary resumes on June 2.
He explained that after passage by the National Assembly, the amendment would be transmitted to state Houses of Assembly for ratification by at least two-thirds of the legislatures, as required by the Constitution.
The Senate Leader appealed to governors and lawmakers across the country to treat the state police proposal as a national security necessity rather than a partisan or ethnic issue.
He also urged both federal and state governments to intensify implementation of the Safe School Initiative pending the full take-off of state policing structures nationwide.
Bamidele warned that repeated attacks on schools were worsening Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis, currently estimated at over 18 million.
“The safety of our schools and the future of our children must remain a national priority,” he stated.
He further disclosed that the National Assembly would prioritise amendments to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, to strengthen deterrence against terrorism, banditry and other violent crimes.
